Dead Man's Bluff
by Vol lady
Summary: David Crispin was Audra's childhood "boyfriend," but now he's been killed in a fall. Or was it a fall that killed him? Jarrod uncovers several other unhappy possibilities as he gathers information to probate the man's will, and the story becomes far more complicated than it first appeared.
1. Chapter 1

Dead Man's Bluff

Chapter 1

The funeral of a young man is always tougher for those left behind than the funeral of an older man would be. When you lose a young man, you not only lose the man he was. You lose all he would have become if he had lived the life of an average man. You lose the children he would never have, the good works he never would perform, the happiness he would never bring to the woman he loved. You lose the possibilities never fulfilled. You lose the future, and that's always worse than losing the past.

For the Barkley family, losing David Crispin was that kind of loss. Even though he wasn't family, he may as well have been. He was Audra's first love, back when they were children and love was innocent and fun. They'd grown older and a little bit apart, but the bond Audra had with him transferred to the girl he did end up marrying. Laureen Devlin, a girl who had come to Stockton to live with her aunt and uncle after her parents died. David and Laureen had fallen in love as adults did, and married as adults did, only a year before David died in a fall from the roof of his house. There had been no children and would never be any. Laureen had lost her aunt and uncle in the influenza epidemic that swept through Stockton only two months after she married, and now she was alone.

Except that she still had Audra, who stood beside her, holding her hand as the coffin was lowered into the ground and the minister said the words meant to comfort and heal. But when it was a young man's coffin, a man only 23 years old, there were no words that would comfort and heal. Laureen was a ghost, the shell of a beautiful girl and a loving wife. Audra guided her where she needed to go on this most horrible day of her life, and she managed to put one foot in front of the other, but she didn't seem to see anything or hear anything. The only thing she could even seem to do was insist that she would wear a black veil over her face. Audra saw to it. She was seeing to everything Laureen needed now.

The three Barkley brothers had been pallbearers for David, along with three men who worked with him at the bank. They all lowered him into his grave together, and each one of them emptied a shovel full of dirt into the grave before Audra led Laureen away and the other mourners followed. Jarrod saw to his mother. Nick and Heath followed along. They escorted the women to the surrey and Nick drove it to the Barkley house, while Jarrod and Heath rode their horses following. Laureen would stay with the Barkleys for a while. No one wanted to leave her alone. She took to her bed as soon as they got there, and Audra went with her to help her undress, and just to be there.

"This is just too impossible to believe," Victoria said. Even though she had seen more than her share of young men die in many different ways, it never seemed easy to believe.

Jarrod handed her a brandy as she sat down on the settee in the living room. He didn't say anything. It didn't happen often, but right now he didn't know what words to use.

"Maybe someone should go check on their house, make sure it's secure," Victoria said.

"Fred Madden did that," Nick said. "He'll keep an eye on it until Laureen's ready to go home."

"There's no telling when that will be," Victoria said, and she looked toward the stairway. "I hope Audra is up to everything Laureen is going to call on her for."

"She is," Jarrod said. "I know David meant a lot to her, but so does Laureen, and you didn't raise a spoiled little girl, no matter what I might have said in the past."

Victoria smiled a little. "She's grown quite a bit over the past few years. I'm proud of her."

"She's grown since I've been here," Heath said. "She was quite the little spitfire when I met her, but now – she's one fine woman."

"I told Carl if he wanted to come by, he should wait until tomorrow," Nick said. "Audra might need some reinforcement then, but today she just needs to be with Laureen, and I don't think Laureen needs to see a young couple around her right now."

"You and I need to get ready and get out to work," Heath said.

Nick nodded and headed for the stairs, Heath right behind him. Victoria asked Jarrod, "Are you going back into town?"

Jarrod said, "I should. Are you going to be all right?"

"Oh, yes, I'm fine," Victoria said. "I'll help Audra, but I have a feeling Laureen is going to spend most of the day sleeping. I heard her up very early this morning. I know she couldn't sleep."

Jarrod remembered. His mother was much the same way on the day of Tom Barkley's funeral, so many years ago now. But Victoria was seeing it like it was yesterday. Jarrod had his own bad memories of losing a spouse to deal with, but he leaned over and kissed her hair. "I can stay if you need me to."

"No," Victoria said. "We'll be all right."

"I won't stay in town, just long enough to gather up some work and bring it home."

"That'll be fine, but don't worry. We'll be all right."

XXXXXXXX

It was an hour after the men left that Audra finally came downstairs. She was still in black funeral clothing, not even taking time to change clothes yet. She looked exhausted, heartbroken. Victoria had changed clothes and was mending some clothing in the living room, but she put it aside and met her daughter at the foot of the stairs. Audra came into her arms, weak and devastated, but not crying anymore.

"She's finally fallen asleep," Audra said. "I stayed long enough to make sure she'd stay that way for a while."

"Perhaps you ought to catch a nap yourself," Victoria said.

"No," Audra said, "I don't need one. I slept last night. I was fine, except for the dreams."

"Of David?"

Audra nodded. "And of Laureen. Oh, Mother, they were such a beautiful couple together. Do you remember the wedding?"

"Yes," Victoria said, and grieved that they hadn't even gotten to the first anniversary of that lovely event yet. It was only three weeks away. It would be incredibly difficult to go through that, almost as hard as today had been.

Victoria and Audra kept their arms around each other as they went back into the living room and sat down on the settee. Audra said, "You want to do everything you can to take the pain away, but it just won't go."

"No," Victoria said. "Only time can reduce the pain, but even then it doesn't entirely go away."

Audra saw the mistiness in her mother's eyes and knew what she was thinking.

But Victoria smiled. "There comes a time – sometimes it happens in a year, sometimes it takes ten – but there comes a time when you don't want the pain to go away entirely, because it takes the love with it. You want them both to stay, the pain and the love."

"I don't know what Laureen's going to do," Audra said. "She has no one now, no one at all."

"She has you, and the rest of us."

"But it's not the same as having your family around you. Laureen's is all gone."

"We'll do what we can to help her adjust," Victoria said, "and she will adjust. Have faith, Audra. We women are stronger than we know."

"I guess we have to be," Audra said, and she picked up a needle from the pincushion in her mother's sewing basket, ready to help mend some clothing.

XXXXXXXXX

Jarrod had written David's and Laureen's wills right after they married, but he never thought he'd be taking either one of them out now to begin probate. There was nothing really startling in either one of them – Laureen left everything to David, David left everything to Laureen. Jarrod knew he would have to talk to Laureen about writing a new will for her, but now certainly was not the time.

The official copy of the will was on file at the courthouse, but Jarrod kept a copy of every will he wrote in his filing cabinet in the office. He'd written many a will over the years and never discarded one, not even after probate and distribution were complete. You just never knew when something might come up and you'd need it again. He took David's will out of the filing cabinet now and looked it over. Then he began the paperwork involved in probating the will, to see that everything was put in Laureen's name as soon as legally possible.

He lingered over it for a while, thinking about David, gone so young. It shouldn't have shocked him as much as it did – many a man and woman died young. Women often died in childbirth, men in accidents of some sort, like David's accident. But 23 was so awfully young, it stung. It stung that this dead man was Audra's age, Audra's childhood friend, Audra's first boyfriend. If for some reason he and Audra had married, instead of he and Laureen, Audra would be a widow now. That's what bothered him – the thought of his little sister, the girl he had helped raise after his father died, being a widow.

Widowed, like he was himself.

He put it out of his mind and kept up with the paperwork, but he was interrupted after a few minutes. His secretary knocked and came in, saying the sheriff was there to see him. "Send him in," Jarrod said.

Sheriff Madden came in with his hat in his left hand, holding out his right hand. Jarrod stood up and shook hands with him. "Jarrod," the sheriff said. "I know this is kind of a rough day to come to you with this, but it really can't wait."

"What's going on, Fred?" Jarrod asked.

Sheriff Madden heaved a sigh. "I had somebody come by my office, and he had quite a tale to tell."

"About what?"

"About David Crispin."

Jarrod was surprised. "What kind of tale?"

"You better sit back down," Sheriff Madden said.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Jarrod sat back down behind his desk, his neck crawling as the sheriff sat down in front of the desk. Sheriff Madden looked distinctly odd – unhappy, grieved, disbelieving, and very much like he didn't want to say what he was about to say. But he said it. "A man named Ben Graves came into town, came to see David Crispin but then came to see me – he says – as soon as he heard that David was dead. Graves is a professional gambler. He says he was in a card game with David last week in French Camp, and David was losing big, very big. The whole game got way out of hand, and David ending up betting his house. And he lost."

"The _house?" _Jarrod let that sink in for a moment. There were a dozen questions flying through his mind. He had to organize them before he spit them out, or he'd go flying off the handle himself. First things first. "Do you know this Graves fellow?"

Sheriff Madden shook his head. "Never saw him before."

"Do we know if David was in French Camp last week?"

"He was. I checked with the boat lines. He went up in the morning and came back in the evening, last Thursday."

"Does anyone know why he went there?"

"I don't know. I haven't asked around enough yet."

Jarrod nodded, swallowed. "Did this Graves have anything in writing saying the house was his?"

The sheriff nodded. "A deed, of sorts. I don't know if it's legal. He let me look at it, but he wouldn't let me keep it."

Jarrod leaned back in his chair, chewing on his lip. "I'll have to see it. Since I'm executor and I'm probating the will, he'll have to come to me with it."

"I told him that."

"David did tend to play a little poker," Jarrod mused. "Nick told me once he tended to get a bit reckless with his game now and then, but betting his house – I don't know how a game in French Camp could get that out of hand."

"Especially in the afternoon," the sheriff agreed, "but I'm not a man with a gambling problem, and it's beginning to sound like David Crispin was."

"I'm gonna have to check out David's financial situation at the bank anyway," Jarrod said, thinking some more. "But if he bet the house – he might not have had money to bet." In which case, David was leaving Laureen destitute. Jarrod shook his head angrily at that thought. That just couldn't be.

"I don't know when Graves will be coming over to see you, but I'm sure it'll be some time today," Sheriff Madden said. "And if his claim is legitimate, I don't know how the hell you're going to tell this to Laureen."

"Delicately," Jarrod said. And then a nasty little thought creeped into his mind. "Fred – you and Dr. Merar went over to the Crispin place when David fell, didn't you?"

The sheriff nodded. "And I know what you're thinking. There was a ladder up against the house. David was flat, head first on the ground. His head and his face were completely caved in. Like he took a dive."

Jarrod closed his eyes against that but the words came out anyway. "He might have killed himself."

"Doc Merar said that to me right off, but we both dismissed it. Now, it doesn't seem so out of the question."

"Damn!" Jarrod blurted suddenly, pounded his desk once, and got up. He wandered to the bookcase a few paces to his right, then came back again.

Sheriff Madden got up. "This isn't normally something I'd look into, but I'm gonna ask a few questions around town, see if I can find out how big a gambler David was, why he was in French Camp. But I'm gonna leave talking to Graves and Laureen to you."

Jarrod nodded. He thought about how distraught Laureen had been. He and everyone else had chalked it up to normal grief over losing her husband in such a sudden and awful manner, but what if it was something more? What if she knew something pertinent? Did she know about his gambling, about his losing the house in a card game? Did she know she was destitute? Did she know or even suspect that David had committed suicide? And how in the world was he ever going to be able to talk to her about that?

"Jarrod, nobody's sorrier than I am about this," Sheriff Madden said.

Jarrod nodded. "I know, Fred. Thanks for coming to tell me before Graves walked in the door."

Sheriff Madden started to leave. "I'll let you know what I find out about why David was in French Camp or anything else. And if I can help out in any other way – "

Jarrod nodded. "Thanks, Fred. I'm sure we can get to the bottom of this, but I have the feeling we're not gonna like where the bottom is."

"I've got that feeling, too," Sheriff Madden said.

Jarrod saw the sheriff to the door, and as the sheriff was going out, another man was coming in. Jarrod's secretary had gotten up to greet him and was standing behind her desk. The sheriff looked at the man, then at Jarrod. The newcomer looked at them both, smiled knowingly, and held his hand out to Jarrod. "Ben Graves," he said. "I take it you're Jarrod Barkley."

Jarrod shook the man's hand as the sheriff nodded to Jarrod's secretary and left. Jarrod said to Graves, "Come on in. It seems we have a lot to talk about."

Jarrod ushered Graves in and closed the door. Graves headed for one of the chairs in front of Jarrod's desk while Jarrod went back to his chair behind it. Graves already had a piece of paper, holding it out to Jarrod even as he sat down. "This is what you really want to see."

Jarrod took the paper. It was a deed, all right, short and sweet, legally executed, giving this Ben Graves David Crispin's interest in his real property in Stockton. Jarrod had the copy of David's will in front of him, and the first thing he did was compare signatures. He was hoping this deed was a forgery, but it didn't look like it. The signatures matched. "So, it seems you won this in a card game with the deceased," Jarrod said, holding onto the deed. "I know you're not keen on giving this up, but I'll need it to evaluate your claim and pay you off, if I determine this is legitimate."

"It's legitimate," Graves said. "And obviously, the first thing I'd do with this property is sell it. I'm not that keen on evicting a widow, so maybe we can talk about her buying me out."

"It's way too early for that," Jarrod said. "We just buried her husband this morning, and she's not going to be in any condition to talk about anything for a while. Moreover, probating a will takes time. I have to evaluate all claims."

"This predates the man's death," Graves said.

"I'm aware of that, but I still need to evaluate everything surrounding this. I know you don't know me, Mr. Graves, but I don't know you either. At this point, I can only assure you that I will lock this deed up in my safe and I will not just happen to lose it somehow."

"I didn't figure you would, but just to be sure, I showed it to the sheriff first."

"Then you can set your mind at ease. This isn't going to just disappear."

"I'd like a receipt."

"Of course. I'll have my secretary write one up and I'll sign it. You realize, of course, that any liens filed on the property that predate this deed take priority."

"I realize that," Graves said.

"You're not new to this sort of thing, are you?" Jarrod asked.

Graves smiled a little. "I'm a professional gambler, Mr. Barkley. I've been in a lot of poker games and won a lot of things in a lot of ways. And before you even ask, yes, I'll be happy to tell you this game got way out of hand. I tried to stop Crispin before it got this far. He put his property up to cover a big bet when he had already squandered all his money on raises he never should have made, but he insisted on one more raise. I knew he was cleaned out and just called him. It turned out he was bluffing all along."

"Which you knew," Jarrod said.

Graves said, "I knew I had a really good hand, and yeah, I figured he was bluffing. But I'm not in my line of work to baby men in card games who don't know what they're doing. I'm more inclined to get them out of the game as fast as I can. Crispin just wouldn't go."

"Had you ever played cards with him before?" Jarrod asked.

"No," Graves said. "I don't play much here in Stockton, and I never saw him in French Camp before."

"You've played in French Camp before?"

"Many times."

"I'll have to check into that," Jarrod said.

Graves got up to leave. "I don't know why, but check into whatever you want, Mr. Barkley. I'm not a thief. I don't cheat at cards. I'm good, and I don't have to. I'm not a big man and I don't like fights. And I didn't want to make Crispin a pauper. I just didn't want him to make me one either. I'm sorry he killed himself, but that's not on me."

Jarrod perked up. "What makes you say he killed himself?"

Graves said, "When he left the game, he was not only broke. He'd lost his house, too. He had the look of a man who was gonna go drown himself. I'm sorry he took his own life, but I'm sure he did."

Jarrod felt worse than he already had. "Where in French Camp was this card game?"

Graves was halfway out the door when he said, "A place called the Golden Goose. Check it out all you want, Counselor. I'll be around here for a few days, and if I leave, I'll let you know where I'm going. Oh, and if anybody's interested in buying that house off me, let me know."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Jarrod spent much longer in town than he had planned, getting more depressed as the day went on. He talked to Dr. Merar about David's death and found out that the good doctor had suspected suicide as soon as he saw David's body, but he and the sheriff had decided that without better proof than just appearances, they would let it go unmentioned. "But now we have better proof," the doctor said, and told Jarrod he would have to consider changing the death certificate. Jarrod asked him to hold off, and he agreed to it, knowing that Jarrod would find out everything there was to find out about this awful mess.

Jarrod checked with the bank and the records office and found out there were no liens on the Crispin house, and there were no personal loans David had taken out. There was also only thirty dollars in the Crispin bank account. The man was broke but debt free – unusual for a man with a gambling problem, so it made Jarrod think harder about everything. He paid for the funeral personally, so that the undertaker would not go unpaid. He would put his own claim in with the estate if at some point it looked like there was any money in there to pay him with. He wired his Pinkerton contact in San Francisco to get whatever he could on Ben Graves. And he decided as he rode home that there was more he had to do.

It was well past dinner when he got there, and he had not eaten. The family, except for Audra, was still up, in the living room unwinding from the day. Jarrod figured Audra was with Laureen and thought that was just as well. He left his briefcase and hat on the table in the foyer and headed for the scotch.

"We expected you for dinner," Victoria said.

Jarrod said, "Something came up. Is Audra upstairs with Laureen?"

"Yes. We got her to eat something, but she's still quite distraught. Audra decided to stay with her for a while."

They all could see that Jarrod looked tired and not very happy as he drank his first glass of scotch down in one gulp and poured another. He didn't usually drink like that anymore. "Bad day in town?" Heath asked.

"I need to talk to you," Jarrod said.

Nick and Heath had been playing cribbage at the table near the piano while Victoria was reading at the settee. Nick and Heath got up and came over as Jarrod took a spot by the mantle, sipping on that second glass of scotch rather than gulping it down.

"What is it?" Victoria asked.

Jarrod decided to be as plain as he could be about it. "A professional gambler named Graves came to see me today. He had a deed to the Crispin property, signed by David. He says he won it from David in a card game in French Camp about ten days ago."

"What?" Nick said, almost too loudly, but even he knew he had to keep it down right now.

Jarrod nodded. "It gets worse. I checked with the bank, and David had only thirty dollars to his name. According to the boat records, David did go to French Camp a week ago Thursday. And if all of that isn't bad enough, I talked to Dr. Merar. He suspected from David's injuries that David didn't necessarily fall. He could have jumped. Dr. Merar didn't feel like he had enough evidence to call it suicide, but now he's rethinking that."

"My God," Victoria said, and immediately looked upstairs.

"Was David deep in debt?" Heath asked.

"No, oddly enough, he wasn't in debt at all that I could find," Jarrod said.

"That doesn't sound like a problem gambler," Nick said.

"No, it doesn't," Jarrod said. "He could have been borrowing under the table somewhere, but that's going to be tough to find unless somebody files a claim with me on the estate, or God forbid, they go after Laureen to get paid."

"Do you really think someone would do that?" Victoria asked.

"Depends on who it is and how much David owed them," Jarrod said. "I'll keep an eye out for it, but it's not at the top of my list of concerns just yet. David surely would have taken a loan out on the house before he'd resort to illegal lenders – or at least I think he would have."

"We all can keep an eye out for that," Nick said.

"I've wired Pinkerton to check on this Graves guy for me, but I think that even though he's a professional gambler, he's pretty much on the up and up," Jarrod said. "He said David was pretty devastated when he lost the house."

"What are you going to do?" Victoria asked.

"Check everything out very carefully," Jarrod said. "So I'm going up to French Camp in the morning. I want to see what I can find out about this card game."

"Do you want one of us to go with you?" Nick asked.

Jarrod shook his head. "No need. I don't foresee anything dangerous going on. I'm just gonna check things out and be back by tomorrow night."

"You'll wire if you won't be back," Victoria instructed.

Jarrod nodded. "I will."

"So, what do we say to Audra and Laureen?" Heath asked.

"I'm gonna need to talk to both of them at some point," Jarrod said. "Audra knew David well, and if Laureen knows anything about all this, I'll have to get her to tell me about it. But not for a few days. There's no urgency here. Graves knows this will take a while to sort out. And if turns out there's nothing fishy about any of this, and if his claim turns out to look legitimate, I'll just get a personal loan at the bank and buy the house from him. There's no reason Laureen should have to suffer because of David's poor judgment – at least no reason I know of yet."

"You don't think she had anything to do with this, do you?" Victoria asked, unbelieving.

"Not that I know of," Jarrod said. "She's just been left holding the bag, but if you had told me this morning there would be this kind of bag for her to be left holding, I wouldn't have believed it. I don't know where any of this is going yet."

"I suggest we not tell Audra anything about this yet," Victoria said. "She's trying to get Laureen settled down. There's no reason to hamper her in that."

"Not yet, I agree," Jarrod said. "But I will need to talk to her soon. I'll let you know before I do."

"If they didn't have any money in the bank, the funeral isn't gonna get paid for," Heath said.

"We can take care of that," Victoria said.

Jarrod nodded. "I already did. I told Dr. Merar to put his charges on our monthly bill. I don't know what other bills might be coming in, but they can wait. They'd wait anyway, what with an estate to settle. Nobody will be surprised."

Jarrod finished his scotch and went back for a third.

"Have you eaten?" Victoria asked.

He knew she'd be worried he was drinking on an empty stomach. "No. I thought I'd get a sandwich or something."

Victoria got up and took his arm. "Come on. Get some food in you before you have much more of that, or you'll be hung over all the way to French Camp."

Victoria took Jarrod off to the kitchen, leaving Nick and Heath standing there looked at each other. "Big Brother's job always ends up being more complicated than it should be," Heath said.

"I'm glad he's got the temperament for it, because I sure don't," Nick said.

"I guess that's why he's the lawyer and you're not," Heath said.

XXXXXXXXX

Jarrod arrived in French Camp at about nine in the morning – not hung over. He took his horse to the livery to have it groomed, fed and watered, and then he went straight to the sheriff's office. He wasn't about to go around asking questions without the sheriff knowing about it.

The sheriff was on morning rounds and it took Jarrod a while to track him down. He finally found the man checking in on shops that were beginning to open up on the main street. And he recognized the man at once. Several years earlier he had talked to the sheriff in a case he was working on for a man who lived here. Jarrod smiled and extended his hand, saying, "Sheriff Wylie, good to see you."

"Mr. Barkley," the sheriff said, surprised. "It's been a long time."

"It has indeed," Jarrod said. "I'd like to talk to you a bit. Are you heading back to your office?"

"I am. Come on, have a cup of my fine coffee."

"I do remember your coffee," Jarrod said as they walked together.

"And you wouldn't call it fine, I know," the sheriff said with a laugh. "But I've gotten married since then, and my wife has taught me how to make better coffee than I used to."

As soon as they were there, the sheriff poured coffee for himself and Jarrod and awaited Jarrod's opinion. Jarrod's eyes opened wide after the first sip. "By golly, you're right. This is better."

"What brings you to my humble village, Mr. Barkley?" the sheriff asked.

"'Jarrod' will do, Sheriff. I have a situation in Stockton. A young man was killed and I'm handling the estate, but I've had a stranger come into town claiming that my client lost his house to him in a poker game up here a week or so ago."

"Ah, yes," the sheriff said. "The Golden Goose, Thursday a week ago."

"So you know all about it." Jarrod couldn't say he was surprised.

"A man loses a house in a poker game, and everybody knows about it in an hour or two," Sheriff Wylie said. "The man died, did he?"

"Fell off the roof," Jarrod said.

"You sure he didn't jump?"

"No, I'm not."

The sheriff nodded, sipping his own coffee. "I can't tell you anything first hand about the game, but if you stick around until about two o'clock this afternoon, you can probably find a game over there with some of the same men who were in that game with Graves and your client. It's a fairly regular event."

"I take it you didn't see anything irregular about the game," Jarrod said. He didn't have any inkling anything was crooked about it, but he thought he'd better ask.

"No, and nobody else did, either," the sheriff said. "Usually when a man loses that big, he starts yelling 'cheat,' but from what I hear, your client just walked out in a fog, looking like he was ready to jump in the river. So if you're not looking at that accident very carefully, you'd better."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Jarrod nodded to the sheriff. "We are looking at his death, but what has me puzzled is that my client – his name was David Crispin – my client wasn't in debt. Not at all. He didn't have any money to speak of, but he didn't have debt, and that's not like a big gambler."

"No, it's not, unless he just got a big win somewhere and got out of debt."

"No, that's not the case – not legal debt, anyway. I haven't looked into whether he might have been in debt to somebody on the side. There's still a lot for me to look into but I thought I'd better check on the game up here first. What do you know about this gambler named Graves?"

The sheriff shrugged. "He's been coming here every couple months or so for quite a while. I hounded him at first, but nobody's ever claimed he's crooked, so I haven't been paying much attention lately. If he cheats, he's really good at it."

"Has he ever spotted another cheat in a game?"

"Once or twice, so I've heard, but it's never come to anything more than the cheat getting thrown out of the game. Graves has never been in trouble here. I don't know about anywhere else."

"Well," Jarrod said with a sigh, "I'll stick around and check into the game today. With luck, somebody there will have been in the game with David and Graves."

"Did Crispin leave a widow and kids?"

"A widow, no kids. My family is looking after her, and I'll buy the house off Graves one way or another, so I'm not really worried about it. What really has me worried is that David was apparently a problem gambler and nobody knew it."

"You're worried some other claims might come up out of the woodwork."

Jarrod nodded. "Under the table debts are the only ones that worry me – so far."

"I'm not aware he borrowed any money while he was here, but it might pay you to ask about it. And we do have a pawn shop. You might see if he pawned anything."

"I'll do that," Jarrod said and checked his watch. "I think I'll do a little walking and a little thinking first. If you hear anything you think might help me – "

"I'll find you," the sheriff said.

Jarrod took off and began his walking and thinking, but he didn't get far before he got to the pawnshop and found it open. He went inside. The place had a remarkably large amount of stock – mostly musical instruments, jewelry and guns. Jarrod nosed around, not really sure why he was doing it. As he did that, a man came out from the back, saying, "Anything I can help you find, Mister?"

"Actually, yes," Jarrod said. "A man was here a week ago Thursday, a man named David Crispin."

"Oh, yes, the man who lost his house in the card game," the clerk said.

"Did he happen to pawn anything while he was here?"

"He did." The clerk went to a tray full of watches that was under the glass counter and pulled it out. He lifted out a gold pocket watch. "This didn't get him all that much. He said he'd be back for it, but of course, he didn't have any money when he left that game. He didn't have anything, apparently."

The clerk gave Jarrod the watch, and Jarrod looked it over. His heart sank a little bit when he noticed the inscription. It gave David and Laureen's names and the date they were married. Jarrod said, "Mr. Crispin has died. I'm a lawyer and the executor of his will. I'd like to have this back. How much?"

"What I paid him and a bit for interest," the clerk said and gave Jarrod a price.

Jarrod forked over the money.

The clerk said, "He pawned a couple other things, too, like this nice handgun here."

Jarrod grinned a knowing grin. "Now, you wouldn't be trying to foist off some inventory on me, would you, sir? Mr. Crispin didn't carry a sidearm."

The clerk laughed uneasily. "I guess I'm mistaken about where this came from."

Jarrod decided not to leave the man twisting in the wind. He saw a pearl broach he thought Audra might like. "Are you willing to part with that?"

"Nobody's coming for that. It's yours if you want it."

The clerk gave him what Jarrod thought was a fair price, and Jarrod bought the broach for Audra. "Thanks for your help, Mr. – "

"Carmody," the man said. "Elias Carmody."

"Mr. Carmody," Jarrod said, tipped his hat and left, putting his purchases in the pocket of his jacket.

XXXXXXXXX

As Jarrod was leaving the pawnshop, Audra was bringing Laureen downstairs for some breakfast. Victoria was the only one home at the time, and she smiled to see that Laureen looked much better than she had the day before. "Good morning, ladies," Victoria said. "Laureen, Audra – are you both finally ready for some breakfast?"

"I'm sorry I'm such trouble, Mrs. Barkley," Laureen said.

"Not at all," Victoria said. "I'll have Silas whip up some scrambled eggs and a good steak and coffee."

"That does sound good," Audra said.

Silas was in the dining room, thinking ahead and resetting the table for Audra and Laureen. "Good morning, Miss Audra, Mrs. Crispin," he said. "I suppose you're ready for some breakfast now."

"I promised them steak and scrambled eggs, Silas," Victoria said.

"Comin' right up," Silas said and went back into the kitchen.

Audra helped Laureen sit down where she herself normally sat, and she took the seat next to it. Victoria sat at her usual place. "Did you sleep well, Laureen?" she asked.

"I did," Laureen said. "Much better than I thought I would. I hope you don't mind, but I think I want to go home today."

That surprised the Barkley women. "There's no need to hurry if you'd rather stay and rest for another day or two," Victoria said, worrying about Laureen going home before she knew about the claim Graves was making on her house.

"I can stay with you for a day or so, if you'd like," Audra offered.

Now Victoria was very uneasy. She didn't know anything about this Graves fellow, what he might do or say if he ran into them in town. "I really think it would be best if you gave it another day here, Laureen," she said. "I know Jarrod has a few things he wants to talk to you about, and he won't be back from French Camp until this evening."

Laureen alerted. "French Camp? Why has he gone to French Camp?"

Her reaction sent Victoria on alert, too. "He has some business there," she said.

Laureen looked decidedly uncomfortable. Audra put her hand on Laureen's. "Laureen, what is it? Is there something about French Camp that bothers you?"

Laureen stuttered. "No, no, it's just – no, it's nothing."

Victoria knew it was something, and now she suspected Laureen knew about the poker game in French Camp, and maybe also about David losing the house. "Laureen," Victoria said, gently but firmly, "something is bothering you. Perhaps you should tell us what it is so we can help you."

Laureen looked up but then looked down, and she started to get up. "I'm really not hungry. I really would like to go home now."

Victoria and Audra both got up with her. Victoria grew even more firm. "Laureen, tell us what the problem is. I can't let you go if you're feeling like this."

Laureen's eyes flashed. "Mrs. Barkley, I thank you for your hospitality and for caring for me, but this is none of your business."

Laureen hurried out. Audra gave her mother a quizzical look and then hurried after her friend. She caught up to Laureen in the foyer. Laureen had stopped there, looking confused. Not crying, but looking dark and unhappy. Audra quickly put her hands on the young woman's shoulders. "Laureen, talk to me. Tell me what's wrong."

Laureen just shook her head. "I can't. I just need to go home."

"I'll get the buggy hitched up and I'll pack a couple things and stay with you tonight."

"No," Laureen said. "Just take me there and drop me off. I don't want you to stay with me. I need to be by myself for a while."

"Is there something about Jarrod going to French Camp that's upset you?"

"Audra, stop. I can't talk about this. I just want to go home. I'm going to go up and get my things, and I'd like you to take me home, right now."

With that, Laureen ran up the stairs and disappeared into the guest wing.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Victoria came into the foyer as Laureen disappeared upstairs, and she knew she had to talk to her daughter. Audra looked confused, but she also looked like she knew her mother was going to tell her something she really didn't want to hear.

"Mother, what's going on?" Audra asked. "Why is Jarrod in French Camp? What does it have to do with the Crispins?"

Victoria spoke quietly. "A professional gambler came to see Jarrod yesterday and claimed that David had lost the house to him in a poker game in French Camp last week."

Audra looked horrified. "I don't believe it. That can't be true."

"Jarrod says that so far, it looks legitimate, so he's gone to French Camp to check it out," Victoria said. "He wanted to wait until he got back to talk to you and Laureen about it, but it looks like Laureen might already know."

"I have to talk to her!"

"Maybe you should wait until Jarrod can do it," Victoria said.

"She wants me to take her home and leave her there! I can't do that!"

"Maybe you'll have to do that. She has the right not to discuss what she knows with you. She has the right to go home and be alone if she wants to be. Jarrod thinks this gambler is on the up and up, and so far he doesn't know of any real danger in this."

"But he doesn't know that for sure!"

"Why don't you take Laureen home and then ask Sheriff Madden to keep an eye on her?" Victoria suggested. "He'd be much better for her if there is trouble than you would."

Audra had to admit that was true, and she could talk to the sheriff without Laureen knowing it. "All right, but I still don't like leaving her alone, Mother."

"She's an adult, Audra," Victoria said. "She can make her own decisions."

XXXXXXXX

Jarrod found the poker game up and running when he went into the Golden Goose at about two. He had nosed around French Camp prior to that, trying to talk to people, trying to get whatever information he could about the poker game, about Graves and about David, but there wasn't much anyone knew or was willing to say that he didn't already know. When he arrived at the poker game, there was an empty place at the table. He asked if he could join.

Four other men looked up at him, and every one of them knew who he was. Jarrod could tell before they opened their mouths. "Come to try us out for yourself, huh, Mr. Barkley?" one man said as he motioned Jarrod to sit down.

Another man laughed. "Yeah, I wouldn't mind winning that nice big house of yours in Stockton on a bad bluff."

Jarrod sat, saying, "Sorry to disappoint you, but that house isn't mine to bet." He took his money clip out. "What's the ante?"

"A dollar," the first man said. "Before you ask, we're not really high rollers around here. That game last week just got way out of hand."

"I'd like to hear about it," Jarrod said. "I'd like to hear how it got that way."

"Well, I was there, and Stu was there – " the first man said, nodding to the second man. "That's Stu Barker and I'm his brother Lou."

_Stu and Lou_, Jarrod thought. Easy to remember.

Lou went on. "Having Graves in the game was what started putting it over the top. When he comes, he brings a lot of money. Most of us are used to that and we don't let him goad us into letting the game stakes get too high, but this fella Crispin, he wasn't really a regular. He and Graves got to one on one. He let Graves go no limit and start increasing the bets on him, and he wouldn't let go of the hand."

"Crispin wasn't _really_ a regular?" Jarrod asked. "Had he been here before?"

"Yeah, now and then."

"Had he played here with Graves before?"

Both Lou and Stu looked like they were thinking, then looked at each other. Lou said, "Now I don't know," and Stu shook his head.

"Did Crispin have much of a hand?" Jarrod asked as he picked up the cards he'd been dealt.

"It wasn't bad, but it just wasn't as good as Graves's," Lou said. "I think he knew it, but he just kept hoping and before long he was stuck with the bluff. Then he bet the house. I thought Stu was gonna tackle him right out of his chair."

"I tried to stop him before that," Stu said. "He wouldn't quit. I think he just saw that pot getting bigger and bigger with Graves's money and he thought he could have it."

"Graves comes here now and then, huh?" Jarrod said, and then said, "Jacks or better to open?"

"Yeah," Lou said.

Jarrod asked, "What are the limits?"

"Two and four," Lou said. "And we're sticking to the limits, Mr. Barkley."

Jarrod smiled and put two dollars in the pot. Stu said, "Graves comes by maybe once a month or two. We know he's a professional, but nobody's ever caught him cheating."

"I don't think he does cheat," Lou said. "He doesn't need to. He has a real good feel for knowing when to get out of a hand and when not to."

"I wonder why he comes here if this game isn't a high stakes game?" Jarrod asked.

"I think it's for old time's sake," Lou said. "He cut his teeth here, before he moved on to San Francisco. Used to hit all the little towns around here, learning his game."

"Do you think there was anything fishy going on in the game when Crispin lost his house?" Jarrod asked and asked for two cards when it was time to draw. He looked at his new cards and now had three jacks, a four and a five.

"No, I don't think so," Lou said. "I think Crispin thought he had a hand good enough to run a bluff with and Graves knew he didn't."

"What were the hands, do you remember?" Jarrod asked.

"Crispin had two kings and two tens and a queen," Stu said. "Graves had the other three queens."

Jarrod shook his head. "That's bad luck on Crispin, isn't it?"

"Real bad," Lou said and called Jarrod's last raise.

Jarrod showed his hand, and his three jacks beat Lou's two pair of nines and aces.

Lou sighed. "You look a mite luckier than your client, Mr. Barkley."

"We'll see if it holds up," Jarrod said.

XXXXXXXX

Audra was arriving home as Jarrod was playing cards. She looked very unhappy and worried, and Victoria understood. "Did you get her settled?"

"I didn't even try," Audra said, coming into the living room where her mother was reading. She sat down beside Victoria on the settee. "I just dropped her off. She hardly said a word on the ride into town."

"Did you talk to the sheriff?"

Audra nodded. "He said he'd keep an eye out for her. Mother – I think she knows about David losing the house."

"I had that suspicion too," Victoria said. "She tensed up as soon as I mentioned Jarrod was in French Camp."

"And there's something else," Audra said. "I don't know what it is, but something else is eating at her too. She seemed very angry."

"It's very difficult to lose your husband," Victoria said, remembering, "but losing your home, too. It's almost impossible to cope with."

"Jarrod is due home tonight?"

"Yes," Victoria said. "I think he'll want to talk to her tomorrow."

"She might talk to him, but I doubt it."

"Well, he'll try. He'll have to. He can't deal with this gambler's claim until he checks it out completely, and if Laureen already knows about it, Jarrod needs to find out how she knows and whether – " Victoria stopped.

"Whether what?" Audra asked.

Victoria had just thought of something. "Whether Laureen knowing about the house had anything to do with David's death."

"You're wondering if David killed himself because Laureen knew about the house," Audra said.

Victoria shook her head. "I don't know what I'm wondering. I just have the terrible suspicion that there's much more to this than has come out yet."

Audra sighed. "So do I."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Jarrod arrived home shortly after the family had gathered for drinks before dinner. He was tired but bid everyone hello before he hung up his hat and gun belt. By the time he got to the refreshment table, Nick had already poured him a glass of his scotch and was handing it to him. "Thank you, Nick," Jarrod said.

"You're gonna need it," Nick said.

Jarrod hesitated. He wasn't expecting to hear that, but when he looked around and saw the entire family there, and no Laureen, he began to get the picture. "Laureen went home, did she?" he asked and sat down in his thinking chair.

"She insisted when we told her you were in French Camp," Audra said. "I think she knows David lost the house in a poker game there."

Jarrod frowned. "Did she say that?"

"No," Audra said, "but she certainly acted like she knew."

Jarrod sighed. "I'll have to go talk to her tomorrow."

"Did you find out anything helpful?" Heath asked.

"Well, David really did lose the house to Graves on a bet, and it sounds like the game was on the up and up, at least according to Lou and Stu," Jarrod said.

"Lou and Stu?" Nick said.

"Brothers. Apparently Graves goes to French Camp to play cards every now and then even though the game is usually small stakes. According to Lou and Stu, he used to play there a lot before he became a high roller."

"Betting the house doesn't sound like small stakes," Victoria said.

"Lou and Stu said the game got out of hand. When Graves and David got down to one on one, they went to no limit and David kept raising until all he had left was the house. David had two pair and ran a bluff, but Graves had three queens."

"No sign of cheating?" Nick asked.

Jarrod shook his head. "Not that anyone saw. Mr. Graves has a legitimate claim on that house. I'll try talking to him tomorrow about taking it off his hands."

"But I don't know how Laureen is going to pay you rent or buy it from you," Audra said. "Mother said David had only a little money in the bank."

"Money is going to be a problem for her," Jarrod agreed, "but we'll work that out somehow."

"Jarrod," Heath said, "we've been talking about everything. We're all pretty much worried that there's more going on here than you know."

"Even more than David possibly committing suicide?" Jarrod asked, but it was rhetorical. "I gave it a lot of thought on the ride up there and on the ride back, and now if you suspect she knew David had lost the house – you might be right. There's more here than - " He stopped, unable to admit to what he was thinking.

"Jarrod, please don't cross examine her like a witness in court," Audra said. "She's still a new widow."

"I know, honey," Jarrod said, "and I won't rake her over the coals. She is my client, after all. And I don't need every answer there is by tomorrow."

They let the subject go then, and it wasn't until he and Jarrod were heading to bed that Nick stepped into Jarrod's room with him, wanting to talk. Jarrod was surprised Nick was pulling him aside, but as he took his jacket off and hung it up, he asked, "What do you want to talk about, Nick?"

"Jarrod," Nick said, and then looked hesitant to say what he was about to say. "Is Dr. Merar sure David was killed by a fall?"

Jarrod got the uneasy feeling he knew what Nick was getting at, but he said, "He seems to be. Why? Do you see something else?"

"I don't know," Nick said, quietly, coming further into the room. He didn't want to be overheard by anyone else. "Maybe it's just my cynical nature – "

Jarrod said, "You're not the cynical one around here, Nick. But go on – what are you thinking about?"

"That maybe he didn't fall," Nick said. "That's maybe somebody bashed his face and head in for him."

Jarrod frowned and nodded. "To tell the truth, the thought had crossed my mind, too. Then I thought that if someone had killed him, Laureen would have seen it. And then I thought – maybe it was Laureen. And then I thought, if David was murdered, it had to be by Laureen. She's the only one who would have had a chance, unless there was something else going on with David we don't know about."

"You're thinking more about that since Audra said she thought Laureen already knew about David losing the house," Nick said.

Jarrod nodded. "I'm the cynical one around here, remember? I've been trying to think of every possibility there might be behind this, and David being murdered, and Laureen doing it, has crossed my mind. But suicide is also a real possibility."

"And so is he just fell off the roof," Nick conceded.

"I've been thinking a lot about that one," Jarrod said. "Why would David have gone up on the roof?"

Nick shrugged. "To fix a leak?"

Jarrod said, "If you had just lost your house in a poker game, would you be fixing a leak for the man you lost it to?"

"You have a point," Nick said. "The only other real reason to go up on the roof is to take a dive."

Jarrod nodded. "Or he was never on the roof at all. I'll talk to Dr. Merar again tomorrow and to Laureen, probably to the sheriff, too. But in the meantime, I'd keep your murder idea to yourself. Mother and especially Audra don't need to hear it until we're more sure about it."

Nick nodded.

XXXXXXXXX

Jarrod was in the sheriff's office bright and early the next morning, and the first thing he said when he walked in the door was, "Fred, you and I need to go talk to Dr. Merar again."

"About David Crispin?" Sheriff Madden asked. "What did you find out in French Camp?"

"Nothing really new, just verified the poker game and the bet and Graves's claim, but what I found out when I got home has shifted my thinking a bit, or at least told me we need to look deeper into David's death."

"Spit it out, Jarrod."

"It's tough, Fred. She is my client. She hasn't told me anything at all yet, but I think she knew about David losing the house, and - " He stopped.

"You're thinking suicide."

"Maybe. But I think we'd better look at the possibility of murder, too."

Sheriff Madden almost popped up out of his chair. "Murder? You can't be serious."

"I wish I weren't," Jarrod said. "But if Laureen knew about David losing the house, she'd have been pretty angry about it."

"And you think she might have bashed his head in and then staged the ladder so it looked like he fell or jumped? Jarrod, you're really reaching."

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, it was Nick who said it out loud first, so I agree. Maybe it is a little harebrained, and I don't have any reason to think there's any truth to it. But if there is, and if my client is involved, this gets a lot more complicated."

The sheriff sighed. "Okay. Let's go see Dr. Merar."

The doctor gave an unhappy sigh when Jarrod explained his thinking to him. "Jarrod, I don't think so. David's injuries were primarily to his face running up into the upper part of his head. That's consistent with a fall or a dive. The only reason to consider the possibility that he was murdered and the scene was staged is if you have some other evidence pointing you that way."

"Ask yourself something, gentlemen," Jarrod said. "If you had just lost your house in a card game, why would you go up onto the roof? You're not gonna fix anything up there."

"If you're gonna take a dive, you'd go up," Sheriff Madden said.

Jarrod nodded. "I agree. But you know, Laureen has been staying at our place, and yesterday, when she found out I'd gone to French Camp, she abruptly wanted to go home. Both Mother and Audra got the feeling that she knew why I'd gone to French Camp, and that she already knew about the poker game and David losing the house. He might have already told her."

"And she got mad and whacked him with a rounders bat," Sheriff Madden completed the thought. "That's stretching it, Jarrod. Maybe David took a dive because he told his wife what happened and she either blew up or went completely tears and despair, but her killing him? I don't see it."

Jarrod looked at Dr. Merar. "But David's injuries could be consistent with someone bashing him in the head on the ground."

Dr. Merar nodded. "Yes. They were that severe."

Something in the doctor's tone jabbed Jarrod so hard that he looked startled. "What?" Sheriff Madden asked.

"Doc," Jarrod said, "this is crazy, but this whole thing is crazy and I want to know we can know one thing for sure. Are you certain that dead man really was David Crispin?"

The doctor and the sheriff both looked just as startled. "Now you're really reaching, Jarrod," Sheriff Madden said.

"Reaching for something in this mess to be sure of," Jarrod said.

Dr. Merar said, "Be sure of that, Jarrod. With his face bashed in that way, I double checked. I treated David for a burn on his right arm last year and a compound leg fracture when he was a boy. This man had both scars. This was David Crispin."

Jarrod nodded with an inner sigh of relief. "Then we're just left with was it an accident or suicide or murder."

Dr. Merar nodded. "Yes, but you're gonna need a lot more than you have if you're going to accuse Laureen of killing her husband."

"I know," Jarrod said. Since Laureen was his client, he was really struggling with what she might say to him and what justice and ethics would require of him right now, before she'd said anything to him. But David had been his client, too. "I'm not arguing for anything here other than an agreement that we need to look into David's death more. Am I right?"

The sheriff and the doctor looked at each other, and shrugged. "You're right," Sheriff Madden said.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"I'm not sure I like the idea of you talking to Laureen about this without me there," Sheriff Madden said when they left Dr. Merar's office and Jarrod said he was going to go to the Crispin house.

"I don't want her thinking we're bringing the law down on her, Fred, and besides, I'm her lawyer," Jarrod said as they walked back toward the sheriff's office together. "She may tell me something I don't want you to hear. She'll be expecting me too, because I'm executor of the will, and because she knows Audra's worried about her. I promise you, I'm not going to cross-examine her. I'll dance around the edges of things as best I can."

"You're gonna have a real dance to do, if you start thinking she actually had something to do with David's death. Tell me the truth. Can you tell me if you really think right now that she murdered him?"

"No, I don't think she did," Jarrod admitted, "but I'm not ruling it out yet either."

"If she killed him, you know it had to be some reaction to him telling her he lost the house."

"A crime of passion, not premeditated, I agree that's likely if it's murder at all. But Fred, you know what happens when we make conclusions too soon. Justice isn't served."

"No, but if you lean on a poor little widow like Laureen Crispin, you're gonna make a lot of people hate you."

Jarrod sighed. "They've hated me before, and they'll hate me again. But I'm not gonna be heavy-handed about this, Fred. I promise. She's my client, and it wouldn't help at this point anyway."

"Get back to me after you talk to her, if you can," the sheriff said and went into his office.

That left Jarrod on the street to head to the Crispin place on his own. The house was on another street, a few blocks away. Jarrod walked fairly slowly, thinking about how he was going to approach this, realizing he was going to have to be very delicate about it without sounding like he was trying to trick Laureen. He realized he didn't know her very well, after all. He was assuming she was an innocent young widow, caught up in emotion, perhaps before her husband's death as much as after. But assuming was a mistake. He didn't know for sure and it would take a while before he figured it out with any degree of certainty, and damn it, he was her lawyer. If she did out and out confess to him and required him to keep it confidential, he'd have to do that.

Justice could really be a hard line to walk when you were a defense attorney. And there was even more. Laureen was Audra's friend. Jarrod also wondered how much his little sister was going to hate him before this was over.

With all that going through his mind, he went to the Crispin house having some general outline of what he was going to ask and how he was going to approach Laureen – but it all went right out the window when he knocked on the door and she answered. Her eyes and nose and entire face were red from crying. Tears were still streaming down her cheeks, and when she saw him, she began to tremble and cry even more. Everything Jarrod thought he would say was just gone. All he could do was respond to his heart. He took her in his arms and let her tremble and said only, "Honey, you shouldn't have left us."

"I know," she said. "I know."

Jarrod moved her inside the house, closing the door and taking her to the sofa, where he just sat with her for a very long time while she cried in his arms. He was a realistic man and had dozens of phony tears and sad stories handed to him over the years, but he thought to himself that if this was an act, it was the best one he'd ever seen. But then, of course, the realistic man in him said that Laureen could be this distraught because of guilt, because she had killed her husband. He knew he should not equate her tears with grief over David being gone. He should not attach anything at all to them, except that they were tears, and he was pretty sure they were genuine. The reason behind them, though, he knew he had to be careful assigning.

"Let me get you some water," he said after a while.

She nodded and sat up straight while he went into the kitchen. He came back with a glass of water, sat down with her again and handed it to her. He had to keep hold on the glass because she was shaking so much.

"Why don't you come back to the ranch with me?" he finally asked.

"No," she said. "I want to be here. I don't want to keep crying in front of everybody."

"You're entitled to cry," Jarrod said.

"Maybe, but I haven't been able to stop, and I – just – want – to – be – alone – "

She fell apart again. Jarrod took the glass of water from her and set it down on the table nearby, then took her into his arms again. He just sat holding her for a long time again. Her tears turned into sobs and then just dry heaves. "Here now, come on, you'll make yourself sick," Jarrod said at that point. He pulled out his clean handkerchief. "Let me dry those for you. Let's just get you back to yourself and talk this out."

Laureen sobbed and blew her nose and coughed and made every noise a human could make, but she began to settle down after a while. She did not give up his arms, though.

Jarrod tried a smile. "There, now, that's better," he said and handed her the water glass again.

She drank more water, then gave the glass back to him, saying, "Thank you. I don't know why I can't stop crying."

"Why don't you just tell me what you're feeling?" Jarrod asked. "What do you feel inside that makes you start crying again?"

She started crying again, too much to answer the question.

Jarrod held her close and decided to try another tactic. "Honey, I'm your friend and I'm your lawyer. Between those two things, there's no problem we can't handle. Are you worried about the house?"

"How – did – you – know – about the – house?" she asked.

"You know David lost it in a poker game in French Camp," Jarrod said.

She sobbed some more, nodding. "How did you know? How – did – anybody else know?"

"The man he lost it to is named Ben Graves," Jarrod said. "He came to see me when he found out David had died."

"Oh, he's going to take it – isn't – he?" Laureen started crying again.

"Now, listen, that's one worry you can wipe right out of your mind right now. Graves doesn't want your house. He wants money. He wants to sell it, and I'll get him to sell it to me as soon as possible."

Laureen looked up, astonished. "To you?"

"I'm going to the bank today to talk about a loan, and I'll buy the house and we'll figure out how you can stay here. You won't be homeless, Laureen. Just quit worrying about that right now."

"Oh, Jarrod!" She threw her arms around his neck, and he smiled when she kissed his cheek over and over again.

"There, see?" Jarrod said. "I'll bet that's been your biggest fear, and now it's just gone. Talk to me some more. I know you miss David terribly."

"I – do," Laureen said. "You – understand."

Widowed himself, Jarrod had been keeping his own grief at bay, but it was tough to console someone who had lost their spouse and not feel his own loss. "I do understand," he said. "And I know from experience it is roughest when it first happens. That's why you need people around you, people who care for you and want to help you through. That's why you should come back to the ranch with me."

She began to sob again. "I – can't."

"Why not?"

She pulled away from him. "I – just – can't."

"Laureen," he said, as tenderly as he could, "remember what I said. I'm your friend and your lawyer. Between the two of those, there's nothing we can't handle."

She got up, used his handkerchief again and walked over to her fireplace. "I – can't talk about it – Jarrod," she sobbed. "I just can't."

Jarrod got up, went to her, and took her into his arms again. She cried against his shoulder, and he let her. For a few minutes they just stood there together while he figured out what to say and what to do. "I don't like leaving you here alone, Laureen," he said.

"I know," she said and blew her nose again. "But I need to be alone, Jarrod. I need to handle – things – alone – right – now."

She tried to give him back his handkerchief, but he just closed her hand around it. "You keep that. I'll go, but you just hold onto that and remember you have me to call on, for whatever reason. And you can come out to the ranch whenever you want." He gave her a kiss on her forehead. "I'm going to the bank now and then I'll be back in my office or looking for Mr. Graves. We'll try to put the house question out of the picture either today or over the next couple days. That ought to help."

Laureen nodded. "I don't know how to thank you, Jarrod – and – I – don't – know – how – to pay – you! David – didn't leave me – any money!"

Jarrod kissed her on the forehead again. "I know that already, too. I'm executor of his will, remember? We'll deal with all that sort of thing later."

She nodded again, and she walked with him to the door. As he went out, she said, "Thank you, Jarrod. You've helped a lot."

He smiled. "I'll be back later today and fill you in on where things stand with the house and everything else. Just don't you worry. You rest now, all right?"

"All right," she said.

He left with a big sigh as she closed the door. This visit with her had really wrung him out, and he found he was exhausted as he went down the street to head for the bank. Exhausted, but no closer to figuring out how David Crispin had actually died. If Laureen's eruption of pain had been over losing him, or of losing him to suicide, or of killing him – he just couldn't tell yet. He knew right now this was going to take longer to figure out than he'd hoped.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"Wow," Sheriff Madden said.

Jarrod had just come to the office and told him about his visit with Laureen, to the extent he thought he could. Mostly he just told her she cried and cried and couldn't stop. "Yes, wow," Jarrod said.

"Well, I didn't expect you'd solve anything today, but I didn't expect you'd run into what you ran into either," Sheriff Madden said. "Have you settled the house question?"

"I got the loan – thank goodness my credit is as good as it is - but I have to give the bank a lien on the house as soon as I buy it off Ben Graves," Jarrod said. "Have you seen him around today?"

"No, but I'll bet he's either looking for a poker game or he's found one."

"I'll check the saloons," Jarrod said.

"So what do you want to do about Laureen?"

"Nothing more today. I'll go back to her and let her know how things stand with the house, maybe try once more to get her to come back out to the ranch."

"What's your feeling on this? Does she know David was a suicide, or did she maybe kill him?"

Jarrod shook his head. "You know I couldn't tell you if I knew, but I don't know yet. She was far too wrapped up for me to tell. Maybe in another day or two I can get her settled down enough for me to get a read on it, but I just don't know."

"If she did kill him – "

"If she did and she confesses to me, I'll do everything I can to get her to tell the truth, but you know I can't out and out tell you what she says if she won't let me."

The sheriff gave a big sigh. "Well, I told your sister I'd keep an eye on her, and I'll keep that up for a while, but I won't be questioning her about anything unless the situation changes."

"Thanks, Fred. I appreciate that. If she has something more to tell us, I think I'll have more luck getting it out of her than you will. But there's that one important thing."

"You're her lawyer."

"I'm her lawyer. She's my client."

Sheriff Madden nodded. "Confidentiality. I get it."

"I'm going to have to stop updating you right now, unless she frees me up to tell you anything."

The sheriff nodded again. "We'll go forward with that understanding. I'm wishing you a lot of luck, Counselor. This is gonna be a sticky one all the way around."

Jarrod nodded. "Don't I know it?"

XXXXXXXX

Jarrod went to his office and drew up a deed for Ben Graves to convey his interest in the Crispin property to him, then he went looking for the gambler. It took him a while but he finally found him in a card game in a place down on the waterfront. Jarrod came in in the middle of a hand, and he watched it play out. The stakes were not big, but they weren't small, either. Jarrod watched Graves run a bluff and win.

He didn't realize Graves knew he was there until the gambler said, "Hello, Counselor. Care to join the game?"

"No, thank you," Jarrod said, "I have other business to discuss with you."

"Like what?" Graves asked as one of the other players shuffled the cards.

"Buying a house," Jarrod said.

Graves got up. "I'm sitting this one out, gentlemen," he said.

Jarrod took Graves over to an empty table in the back of the room, where they sat down. "I've been to the bank," Jarrod said. "They had a recent appraisal on the house."

"Why?" Graves asked.

Jarrod shook his head. "Confidential." David had been interested in a loan, but Graves didn't need to know that. Jarrod took an envelope and the deed out of his inner jacket pocket. He showed Graves the money in the envelope. "Sign the deed, and this is yours."

Graves counted the money and gave a sigh. "This is the appraised value?"

"Yes," Jarrod said, "plus a little."

"Well, quick and dirty, but this is all right to me," Graves said.

Jarrod handed him the deed, saying to the bartender nearby, "Do you have a pen?"

The bartender came up with a pen and ink and brought them over. Graves signed the deed and Jarrod gave him the money. "That's what I like," Graves said as he put the money into his wallet. "No fuss, no muss."

"Will you be leaving town now?" Jarrod asked.

"I don't know," Graves said. And he smiled. "It depends on whether I'm winning or not."

XXXXXXX

Laureen finally smiled when Jarrod told her the house was his and he wouldn't be evicting her. "I don't know how we're going to work out me paying you rent though," she said.

"Like I said before, we'll figure it out later," Jarrod said. "But the offer for you to come stay at the ranch for a while is still open."

Laureen shook her head. "Maybe I actually came here to be sure no one would take it away from me while I was gone, but now I want to stay. This is my home. I shared it with David. He died here. There may come a time I want to leave, but not tonight. Thank you, Jarrod." She kissed his cheek.

"I'll stop by tomorrow and we'll talk again," Jarrod said. "In the meantime, you sleep tight."

Laureen nodded.

XXXXXXX

Jarrod was scarcely in the door at home when Audra came running to him. "Did you see Laureen? Will she come back here?"

"No, she's staying at home," Jarrod said. "But the good news is that I now own that home, so she's feeling much better."

"Oh, Jarrod!" Audra gushed and threw her arms around him.

He laughed.

"How did you get it done so fast?" Audra asked, taking him by the arm and walking him into the living room where everyone else was gathered.

"Good credit, and Graves wanted to get rid of it as fast as he could," Jarrod said.

Audra left him as he made his way to the refreshment table. Audra sat down beside her mother on the settee as Victoria said, "I'll bet that's the fastest real estate transaction you've ever handled."

"By a long shot," Jarrod said. As he turned with his scotch, he caught Nick looking at him. Nick wanted to know if he had found out anything more about David's death, but Jarrod wasn't going to address that in front of the ladies, not when Jarrod knew it was murder Nick wanted to talk about. Besides, he needed a rest from Laureen and the day he'd had if he was going to be thinking straight tomorrow.

So, it wasn't until they climbed up to bed that Nick took Jarrod aside and asked, "Did you get anywhere figuring out how David died?"

"No," Jarrod said. "Laureen wasn't in any shape to talk about it, and from here on out, Nick, I'll have to stop talking to you about her and what she says to me."

"Confidentiality, I get it," Nick said. "Well, I won't ask you anymore then. But if you can give me a heads up, if things start looking ugly, because it's going to hurt Audra if it does. You might need somebody to keep her from beating up on you."

Jarrod made a don't-I-know-it face. If Audra started feeling protective toward Laureen and if she felt her lawyer brother was not protecting her, Audra would not take it well. "Right now, I don't have enough to make the doctor change the death certificate. David Crispin died in an accidental fall. Even if that's not what really happened, that may be all that the law says happened."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

"I want to go into town with you, to see Laureen," Audra announced at breakfast.

Jarrod wasn't sure how he felt about that. "I might want to talk to her confidentially today, Audra. You can't be there for that."

"I know," Audra said, "but I want to see how she is. If you want to talk to her, I can disappear for a while."

Jarrod remembered all the tears and sobs from the day before. If Laureen was still that distraught, Audra was not going to want to leave her. Jarrod struggled with how to say that.

Victoria saw his hesitation and said, "Audra, why don't you and I go in this afternoon? There are some things I have to pick up at the mercantile, and if Jarrod needs to talk to Laureen while we're there, we can just slip out and get out of their way."

"All right, Mother," Audra said.

Jarrod gave his mother a little "thank you" smile. "I'll try to see her this morning so that you won't have to slip out of the way this afternoon," he said.

"Is it all right if I try to talk her into coming back out here for a while?" Audra asked Jarrod.

"Of course," he said, "but I tried yesterday and she wasn't interested, so don't expect her to have changed her mind."

"I won't expect anything one way or the other," Audra said. "I just want her to know that she has a friend."

"I think she knows that, Audra," Victoria said.

XXXXXXX

Jarrod went to town and intended to go to his office first thing, but as he was leaving the livery after putting his horse in for the day, he saw something odd. And his inner alarm went off. He saw Ben Graves on the street, but he was leaving the main street and heading down a side street for the residential area – the place where Laureen Crispin lived. His suspicions being up about this whole thing to begin with, Jarrod followed, at a distance, keeping Graves in view, until he saw him go up onto the porch of the Crispin house and knock. Laureen answered – and she let him right in.

As if she didn't want anyone to see she was doing it.

Jarrod rested himself against the side of a building across the street and back that side street a bit, and he wondered what was going on. He tried to think of some reason that Ben Graves would be seeing Laureen, and he couldn't think of one. The man didn't own her house anymore, and as far as Jarrod was aware there was no relationship at all other than that between Graves and Laureen. So what was he doing there?

Well, there was one way to find out, Jarrod decided. He crossed the street, went up to the Crispins' door and knocked. It took a moment for Laureen to answer, but when she did, Jarrod took his hat off. "Good morning, Laureen," he said as politely as ever. "I thought I'd drop in and see how you're doing today."

She didn't look like she had been crying today, but she did seem a bit vacant. "Oh, I'm doing better, Jarrod, thank you. Since you took care of the house for me, I've been feeling much better."

"There are still a few matters we need to discuss, about David's estate, and a couple other things. May I come in?"

She hesitated only a moment before saying, "Of course."

She opened the door and let him in – and Jarrod was actually surprised to see Ben Graves still sitting there on the living room sofa. He half thought the man would have snuck out the back door while Laureen was at the front door, but Graves just stood up and said, "Good morning, Mr. Barkley."

Jarrod's stutter was genuine. "Uh – Good morning, Mr. Graves. Laureen, I can come back."

"No, no, no need," Graves said and headed for the front door. "I just came to give Mrs. Crispin my condolences and to tell her how happy I was that we settled the issue about her house yesterday."

"Are you still winning at poker, Mr. Graves?" Jarrod said.

"Yes, yes, I am," Graves said. "I'll be on my way, and good luck to you, Mrs. Crispin. I'm sorry we had to meet under these circumstances."

"Good-bye, Mr. Graves," Laureen said, and closed the door behind him as he went out. "He's not such a bad sort," she said to Jarrod as she came back into the living room. "Would you like some coffee, Jarrod?"

"I would, thank you," Jarrod said. He sat himself down on the sofa as Laureen went into the kitchen. Jarrod looked around and noticed that there was no coffee cup that might have been used by Ben Graves. He wondered if he should make anything of that. Like Graves's visit hadn't really been a social call?

Laureen brought a cup of coffee in and set it down on the table in front of the sofa. "I'm doing much better today, Jarrod, so maybe I'll be able to talk to you sensibly about the things you want to talk about," she said and sat down beside him.

"Well, I still won't pressure you too hard," Jarrod said. "There's no need to hurry. Mother and Audra are planning to stop by this afternoon to see how you're doing. I hope you're up to it."

"Oh, yes, I am," Laureen said, but trembled a little as she said it.

She was still shaky, but Jarrod couldn't be sure why. "I need to talk to you a bit about David's accident," Jarrod said, taking a sip of coffee, deciding to risk being a bit forceful. "We haven't really talked about it, but do you feel comfortable telling me how it happened?"

"Oh," she said and looked more anxious. "Jarrod, really, this is hard to talk about."

Jarrod reached for her hand. "I know it is. But I need to know if I'm to handle the estate correctly."

"Why?" she asked.

He was hoping she wasn't going to ask that. "In case I uncover some kind of insurance policy he might have had."

"He didn't have any."

"Sometimes an employer will offer a policy as part of a compensation plan."

"Did the bank do that?"

"I'm still digging that kind of information up. I know this is hard, Laureen, but it might be harder if we let it linger rather than get it out of the way. Can you tell me how the accident happened?"

Laureen sighed, a sigh with a sob in it, but she said, "He went up on the roof. I was inside. The next thing I knew, he yelled and I ran outside and – he – was – on the – ground – "

"Do you know why he went up on the roof?" Jarrod asked, squeezing her hand.

"No, I really don't," she said.

"Had he told you about losing the house in the card game before he went up on the roof?"

Laureen nodded. "Yes, he told me, but I don't know why that would have anything to do with why he went up to the roof."

"Neither do I," Jarrod said, "except that it surprises me that he'd go up there to fix something when the house wasn't his anymore."

"Well, I just don't know," Laureen said, beginning to sound irritable with what he was saying. "He didn't say why he was going up there. He just got the ladder and went up."

"Did you see him go up?"

"No."

"And you didn't see him fall."

"No. Jarrod, what are you getting at? What does this have to do with anything?"

Jarrod took a deep breath and squeezed her hand again. "If there is an insurance policy and you're due some money on it, I have to know what happened to David was an accident, not something else."

"Like what?"

Jarrod took another deep breath. "Laureen, how was he acting when he told you about losing the house?"

"Upset! Sorry! He apologized over and over!"

"And then did he go straight outside to go up onto the roof?"

"No, he didn't go right away."

"Did you have words about him losing the house?"

"Of course we did! He was always gambling, and this was – " She stopped.

"He gambled a lot?" Jarrod asked.

Laureen realized she had said more than she intended to. She closed her eyes, and then nodded. "He gambled a lot."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

"Laureen," Jarrod said, "one of the first things I had to do as executor of David's will is to determine the size of his estate and what was in it. I know he had very little money in the bank."

"And you know I knew that," Laureen said quietly. "It was no secret."

"Did he have any other money stashed away anywhere? Maybe around the house?"

Laureen shook her head. "He had gambled everything away. Is that what you wanted to hear? That he had gambled away everything we had, because that's what he did." She opened her eyes and glared at Jarrod.

Jarrod sighed. "Why didn't you tell Audra what kind of trouble you were in? She's your friend."

"How could I tell her that David lost everything?" Laureen asked. "I thought about telling you, but I couldn't do it! I couldn't tell anyone!"

"As far as I've been able to determine, he wasn't in debt to the bank," Jarrod said.

"No, I wouldn't let him get into debt," Laureen said. "He at least didn't do that, I don't think."

"Do you know if he might have been in debt to anyone on the side?"

She glared. "No! He wasn't!"

"Laureen, are you sure?" Jarrod asked as gently as he could. "Has anyone come to you claiming he owed them money on a loan?"

"No!" Laureen said and got up fast.

Jarrod stood up with her. "Laureen, if that's happened, or if it does happen, you need to tell me right away because sometimes people who lend money under the table can be violent if they don't get it back."

Laureen shook her head, but then she began to break down again. Jarrod took her into his arms, like he had the day before. She sobbed. "He didn't owe anybody any – money – that – I – know of."

"Come here, sit down," Jarrod said. He led her back to the sofa and kept her in his arms again. "I know this hurts, but if you tell me everything important right now, it'll all be over with and you can go on."

"There isn't anything else!" she cried, pulling away from him. "He didn't owe any money that I know of but he gambled away every cent we had! He gambled away the house and he told me about it and we had words and he went up on the roof and he fell! That's all I know!"

She got up again and walked away from him. Jarrod stood up again, but this time he did not go to her. "Laureen, I'm sorry to have dragged you through this, but it's been necessary. I'll leave it for now if you want me to, but there are other questions I have to have answers to, and they're hard."

"No!" Laureen suddenly screamed and turned on him. "David did not kill himself! I know he did not kill himself!"

So, she knew what he was going to ask, at least that much of it. "How are you sure?" he asked, as gently as he could.

"I just am!" she cried.

Jarrod decided to go the extra step, even if he was about to go about it in a round about way. "Laureen, I told you a moment ago that people who lend money under the table can be violent when they don't get it back. You said you didn't see David go up onto the roof. Are you sure he did go up onto the roof?"

"What?" she said. "What are you thinking? Are you thinking somebody killed him?"

"I'm trying to get all the information I can," Jarrod said. "I'm sorry if this is painful for you, but I have to know – is it possible he was never on the roof at all? Is it possible someone killed him?"

Her eyes started to burn into him. "Any minute now you're going to ask me if I killed him."

Jarrod sighed. He really wasn't planning to ask her that yet, but there it already was. "I have to know exactly what happened, Laureen."

"Get out," she said, snarling.

Jarrod wasn't surprised at her reaction.

"You're fired," she said. "You're not my lawyer and I'll get somebody else to handle David's will."

"Laureen, I'm the named executor – you can't change that. If you fire me as your personal lawyer, you'll lose the protection of confidentiality for anything you tell me from this moment on," Jarrod said. "You'd do yourself and David much better if you let me continue as your lawyer and you tell me everything so we can handle it."

"Get out!" she screamed and physically shoved him toward the door.

Jarrod didn't fight her, even though he was much bigger and stronger and could have easily stayed in the house. He let her shove him onto the porch and slam the door after him. But he stayed on the porch and didn't leave right away. He wondered how he could have handled that differently so that she hadn't thrown him out, and he kicked himself about it. But then he thought about it. He had tried to steer her toward suspecting that some moneylender had killed David, but she had gone straight to saying he was accusing her.

That's what guilty people did.

Jarrod suddenly remembered that his mother and sister were planning to come to see Laureen that afternoon, and now he was worried. If Laureen had killed David, if she felt threatened because she thought Jarrod suspected it –

Jarrod knew he had to tell the sheriff he'd been fired, and then he had to get home and talk to Victoria and Audra before they came to town.

He went straight to the sheriff's office and luckily found him there, putting wanted posters up on his wall. "Well," Jarrod said as he came in, closing the door behind him. "I've just been fired."

"Why?" Sheriff Madden asked.

"I asked questions she didn't like," Jarrod said. "Before you ask, I didn't get any real answers, but for now, if she says anything to me, it's not confidential and she's knows it."

"Do you think you'll be talking to her again anytime soon?"

"I don't know, but Mother and Audra are planning to go see her this afternoon. I need to get home and give them a warning."

"They'll still come, won't they?"

"Probably. There was something else, Fred, something that isn't confidential. As I was on my way over there, I saw Ben Graves go into the house."

The sheriff's eyes popped open wider. "Graves? I thought you bought the house from him. What's he going over there for?"

"I don't know," Jarrod said. "He left when I went in. He said he was just expressing condolences."

The sheriff gave a big sigh and sat down on the edge of his desk. "Why is it everything you get involved in turns into a big puzzle?"

Jarrod chuckled a little. "Maybe because I ask too many questions. But do me a favor. Keep an eye on Laureen. When Mother and Audra come in, I'll ask them to check in with you first."

"All right. About what time do you expect them?"

"I don't know. Maybe two. But I should be back before they come in." Jarrod headed for the door. "I'll see you before they do."

"You're not going to go see her when they do?"

Jarrod shook his head. "I was literally thrown out. I'd better keep my distance, at least unless Mother and Audra talk Laureen into hiring me back, which seems very unlikely to happen."


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Jarrod got home to the ranch just before lunch was being served. Nick and Heath were not there, but Victoria and Audra were together doing some dusting of the knick-knacks in the living room.

"Jarrod!" Victoria said. "We weren't expecting you back so soon."

Jarrod came straight to the living room after leaving his hat on the table in the foyer. "I need to talk to you before you go in to see Laureen. She fired me this morning."

"Fired you?" Audra said. "Why?"

"I asked too many questions," Jarrod said.

Victoria could figure out what he asked about. "About David."

"Yes, and I can't get into details, but I'm afraid I was blunt enough to offend her," Jarrod said. "I don't know what kind of reception you'll get this afternoon. I wanted you to be warned."

"I don't think she'll take you out on us," Audra said.

"Maybe, maybe not," Jarrod said, "but it's probably not a good idea for you to invite her back here again. That might get you heaved out the door."

Audra moaned.

Victoria said, "Should we talk to her about you at all?"

"Don't let it go past much more than I'm sorry if I offended her and maybe she ought to reconsider firing me," Jarrod said. "Don't try to talk her into anything. Just listen to her and try to settle her down."

"Which is what we would be doing anyway," Victoria said.

"Check in with Fred before you go over there, too," Jarrod said. "I don't think there's any danger involved for you, but it can't hurt for him to know you're there."

"Laureen would never hurt us," Audra said.

"Unlikely, I agree," Jarrod said. "But do watch out for yourselves. I'd suggest you take Nick along, but I'm afraid he wouldn't be much help in a talk that should be woman to woman."

"You're right about that," Victoria said. "We'll be careful, and we'll check in with Fred. Are you going back to town?"

"Yes, right away, I have other matters I have to attend to."

"We'll come see you at your office when we leave Laureen's," Victoria said.

Jarrod kissed her and Audra, then headed straight back out the door, saying, "Good luck."

Audra slumped a little as Jarrod went out the door. "I know Laureen didn't mean to fire him."

"Well, it isn't wise to fire your landlord," Victoria said. "We'll try to calm her down and assure her she hasn't lost the Barkleys as friends, or her house. I do wish I knew what Jarrod had said that got her so upset."

"Maybe she'll tell us."

"But we'd best not ask. We're going to be walking a fine line, Audra."

"I know," Audra said, "but Laureen knows I'd never hurt her. It'll be all right."

XXXXXXXX

When Audra and Victoria came into town together in the buggy, they did stop at the sheriff's office as Jarrod requested. They told him where they were going, and he immediately said, "I'll be just across the street in case you need me. Not that I expect any trouble, but these days, you never know."

"I'm sure we'll be fine, Fred," Victoria said, and then she and Audra left.

Heading over to the Crispin house in the buggy, Victoria said, "You know, we may not get a good welcome today."

"You don't think so?" Audra asked.

"I don't know, but Laureen may just take her anger at Jarrod out on us. If she doesn't let us in or she asks us to leave, we shouldn't argue with her."

"All right," Audra said. "But let me do the talking first."

In only a minute or so, they were hitching the buggy up in front of the house and going up onto the porch. Victoria gave a glance to see the sheriff was across the street, and he was. He smiled and tipped his hat.

Audra knocked on the door, and when Laureen opened it and saw who it was, she let out a long breath and hung her head. "May we come in, Laureen?" Audra asked.

Laureen just nodded with her head down and let them in.

"We've been worried about you, being here alone," Audra said. "We just wanted you to know we were thinking about you."

"Would you like some coffee?" Laureen asked, but it was easy to see and hear that her heart wasn't in it.

"No," Audra said, "thank you."

"We won't stay long," Victoria said. "How are you doing?"

Laureen looked up at them wearily. "I fired Jarrod this morning."

"We know," Audra said. "He told us. But that doesn't mean we aren't still concerned about you."

"I know you mean well," Laureen said, "and I know he's my landlord and I shouldn't have fired him."

"More than anything, he's your friend, Laureen," Victoria said. "You don't need to worry about the fact that he owns your house. Firing him won't affect that."

"I know," she said. "Jarrod is far too decent a man to throw me out over something like this."

"Yes, he is," Audra said. "And he is sorry if he offended you in any way."

"I'm sure he is," Laureen said. "He just – well, nevermind."

"Is there anything we should tell him?" Victoria asked. "Would you like to rehire him?"

Laureen shook her head. "No. I don't want to do anything right now."

"Is there anything else you want to talk to us about?"

Laureen hesitated, but finally said, "No."

"How are you doing otherwise?" Audra asked. "I know Jarrod upset you, but I hope being home is beginning to help you cope with everything."

"I'll cope," Laureen said. "And I thank you for your hospitality and your concern, but you don't need to worry about me anymore. I'll cope."

"Forgive us if we still are concerned, Laureen," Victoria said. "You still have quite a few things to grapple with, like David's estate, and the fact that you are alone here."

"I'll cope," Laureen said one more time.

"Is there anything at all we can do to help you?" Audra asked. "We've been friends for a while. If we can help, we want to."

Laureen shook her head again. "I'm doing all right. If I do need you, I know I can come back out to the ranch and ask for help – whether Jarrod is my lawyer or not."

Victoria and Audra both smiled. "We're glad you know that," Victoria said. Then she leaned over and kissed Laureen on the cheek. "We'll be going now, unless you want us to stay and talk."

"No," Laureen said. "I appreciate the offer, but you can run along. I'll be fine."

Audra kissed Laureen on the cheek as well. "Just as long as you know where to come when you need help."

Laureen smiled a little. "I do."

The Barkley women left, Victoria giving a nod to the sheriff across the street as they climbed back into the buggy. Once they started away, Audra said to her mother, "I didn't like that at all."

"Neither did I," Victoria said. "She's still grief stricken, of course. You don't get over losing a spouse in a matter of days. But there certainly seems to be something more holding her back from talking to us."

"Yes," Audra said. "Shall we go talk to Jarrod?"

"That's probably a good idea."


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

"It was a strange visit," Victoria said to Jarrod as soon as he let her and Audra into his inner office.

The women sat down as Jarrod went around behind his desk and took his chair. "Strange how?"

"She wasn't angry," Victoria said. "She just seemed very tired and uncertain."

Audra said, "There seemed to be something she wanted to tell us but it wouldn't come out."

"She doesn't want to rehire you, at least not yet," Victoria said.

Jarrod folded his hands and rested his forehead against them, but only for a second. "I think you're right. I think there's something going on she wants to talk about but she won't."

"Do you think it's David's suicide?" Victoria asked.

"Could be. Could be she's having trouble thinking up a lie. I don't know," Jarrod said.

"Jarrod," Audra said, and continued slowly, "you aren't thinking Laureen had something to do with David's death, are you?"

Jarrod was surprised Audra was asking. "Like this wasn't an accident, like she killed him?"

Audra realized that was what she was asking and she changed her mind. She quickly shook her head. "Oh, no, that's preposterous. She'd never have done that. There wouldn't have been any reason to do it. She loved him."

"Audra," Jarrod said, "the only thing I'm thinking is that David's death is more complicated than we thought, and it has something to do with losing the house in that poker game."

"Laureen would have been angry when she found that out," Victoria said.

"But I can't see her out and out killing him," Audra said.

Jarrod immediately thought of Laureen's reaction when he suggested some moneylender might have killed David. Laureen went straight to thinking he was accusing her. But he couldn't talk about that. "Nor can I. At least, there's no evidence of it. But if she said something that pushed him over the edge – "

"He killed himself, and she thinks she caused it," Audra said with sudden certainty. "That's it. I'm sure of it."

Jarrod said, "Well, whether he accidentally fell off that roof or he intentionally jumped, Laureen might feel she's the cause of his death because something she said or did sent him up there."

"I think that might be a more plausible explanation than she out and out killed him," Victoria said.

"I know it's an explanation that would make us more comfortable," Jarrod said, "but I think I'm going to have to talk to the sheriff and he's going to have to do a bit more digging."

"Can you talk to him and keep your oath?"

"I won't tell him anything she's told me thus far, and she hasn't told me anything that would hold up as evidence anyway," Jarrod said.

"What can we do in the meantime?" Audra asked.

Jarrod said, "Just what you're doing. Be available to her, but don't ask her questions about David's death. Let her come to you on that, if she's going to."

"But I think we better be prepared for her not to come to us at all anymore," Victoria said. "If she is feeling guilt over David's death for whatever reason, she might very well close up even more. And if by some incredible chance she actually did kill him – "

"She didn't," Audra said quickly. "I know she didn't."

"Honey, I agree, it's very unlikely and I don't think she did," Jarrod said, "but we can't rule anything out. We have to see where the evidence takes us."

"She didn't," Audra said again, firmly.

XXXXXXX

Victoria and Audra did their shopping and headed home, while Jarrod finished up what he was working on and for a long time just sat behind his desk, turned around and staring out the window. He was baffled by Laureen Crispin, absolutely baffled. The only thing he was even starting to rule out in his own mind about David's death was that it was an accident. Other than that, his suspicions were twisting around in his mind like a tornado. David could have jumped. He could have never been up on the roof in the first place. He could have owed money to someone who killed him. Or Laureen could have killed him in anger after he told he her lost the house. The only evidence there was – David's fatal injuries – would support any of those conclusions. Damn it all.

And then another suspicion popped into his mind. What was Ben Graves doing visiting Laureen? Condolences? Why would he do that?

Jarrod hurried out and headed for the sheriff's office, but the sheriff wasn't there. Jarrod went out on the street looking for him and found him making rounds about three blocks away. "Fred, can we talk?"

"Sure," the sheriff said. "Have you got some new problem I really don't want to hear?"

"No, just the old one," Jarrod said. "Mother and Audra told me that they visited Laureen and they got the feeling she wanted to tell them something but held back."

"What do they think she was holding back?"

"They figured it had something to do with David's death."

The sheriff looked carefully at him. "You're trying hard not to tell me something you found out before she fired you."

"No, no evidence I found out," Jarrod said. "I just think we need to keep digging into David's death, keep digging deeper. When you went over to the house and found him, did you take any notes about the way everything looked over there? Where the ladder was? Where Laureen said she was?"

"She was pretty much in shock. I didn't ask many questions but she said she didn't see it happen. What are you driving at?"

Jarrod did a quick inventory of what he knew and how he came to know it, whether he got it by public information or information from Laureen while he worked for her. "David didn't have any debt with the bank, but he didn't have a big account there either. He could have had some debt under the table."

"Something illegal, you mean."

"That's what I mean. I don't have any evidence of it. It's just a possibility."

"I know you've been wondering if one of his under the table lenders killed him."

"I know it's a possibility, especially since apparently no one saw David fall."

"Hm," the sheriff thought. "I've got my regular informants I can check with. But I know you're even thinking Laureen might have killed him. You're not trying to find a back door way for me to get to that because she told you something, are you?"

"No, no, she hasn't told me anything like you're thinking."

"You're not working for her anymore. You can check into these things yourself."

"Yes, but I'm still the executor of the will, and I don't have any authority to go checking into anything like we're talking about. Nobody has to answer any of my questions."

"But you'll nose around anyway."

"Not today, just in case she rehires me in a hurry. But while you're at it, check into this Graves fellow more, too. I still don't like that I saw him come out of Laureen's place when I went in. Something doesn't smell right, and I think we're gonna need to know more before Pinkerton can get back to me."

The sheriff sighed. "Everything has you uncomfortable. One of these days, you're gonna get to the end of one of these long strings of suspicions and find out all your suspicions were wrong and nothing was going on."

Jarrod smiled. "Believe me, Fred. I'd like nothing better than for this to be the day."

"Well, let me just fill your head with one more little question we haven't asked and we don't have an answer for," the sheriff said.

"What's that?" Jarrod asked.

"Why did David go to French Camp to play poker in the first place?"

Jarrod let that swirl around with all his other questions for a moment, and then realized he had made that common but embarrassing mistake again. "I assumed," he said with a nod. "I assumed he went there because he didn't want to get caught playing here. And I ought to know better than assume anything by now."

"Yeah," the sheriff said, nodding. "The only problem I have with that question is who to ask about it."

"Laureen," Jarrod said. "That gambler Graves goes to French Camp with some regularity. Maybe David went more often than we know."

"Which hands us another question," the sheriff said.

Jarrod nodded, understanding. "Have David and Graves played poker before? Graves told me no, but did he tell me the truth? Or is there more to this game where David lost the house than we've figured out yet?"

The sheriff nodded. "You can't talk to Laureen under the circumstances, but I can."

"I'll talk to Graves – if he's still around and if he'll talk to me." Jarrod headed out the door. "I'll come back here as soon as I get some answers out of him, if I get any. Whether they'll be truthful answers is another matter altogether."


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Sheriff Madden didn't have any trouble tracking Laureen down. She was home, preparing her dinner, when the sheriff knocked on the door. He held his hat in his hands and smiled when she let him in.

"I'm sorry to have to bother you again, but there's one question I need to clear up and I think we can do it pretty quickly," the sheriff said.

"What is it?" Laureen asked.

She looked exhausted and the last thing the sheriff wanted to do was spend too much time asking more questions. She would shut down if he went too far. "I was wondering why David went up to French Camp to play cards in the first place. Why did he go there in particular?"

Laureen looked confused, then shrugged. "I don't know. He didn't say. He just said there was business in French Camp and I let it go at that."

"Had he gone there before to play cards?"

Laureen took a shaky breath. "I knew he'd had business there before. I assumed it was bank business, and knowing David, yes, he played cards while he was there. But I don't know that for sure. Is this really important, Sheriff?" Then she suddenly sobbed. "When can we let my husband rest in peace?"

Sheriff Madden smiled. "I won't bother you anymore right now," he said. "That was all I wanted to talk about. You just take good care of yourself."

"Thank you," Laureen said and escorted him to the door.

As the sheriff went out, he checked his watch. The bank would be closed now, but someone might be there. He had a question to ask them now. He went over, knocked on the door, and the bank manager saw who it was and let him in. Sheriff Madden asked one question. "Did you send David Crispin to French Camp on business, at any time?"

"No, never," the bank manager said.

That's what the sheriff had thought. He thanked the manager and went back to his office.

XXXXXXX

While the sheriff was talking to Laureen and the bank manager, Jarrod was looking around town for Ben Graves. His thoughts around the man started to gel a little more than they had been, and he was beginning to suspect the man was not as clean as he first appeared. But Jarrod had no evidence to back up his suspicions. Pinkerton hadn't gotten back to him yet. All he had was that he had seen Graves with Laureen in her home. But that had never set well with him. There was probably a reason for that. Instinct for him often began with an itch in the back of his mind, like the one he was having now.

It took a while, but Jarrod finally found Graves in a poker game in a place by the waterfront, not the same place as he had found him before. There was room at the table. Jarrod decided to sit down and lose a little money.

"Well, Counselor Barkley," Graves said as Jarrod sat and took his money out. "Here I tell you I'm still winning and you sit down to play with me anyway. Didn't you believe me?"

"Oh, I believed you," Jarrod said, "but I thought we could talk while we played."

"You've got more questions?"

"Some."

"Are you sure you don't want to talk about them privately?"

A new hand began, and Jarrod saw what the ante was. It wasn't a cheap game, but not a big one either. He put five dollars in the pot and accepted the cards dealt to him. "Maybe later. I don't have many you'd be nervous about answering in public, and I thought I might try to put a dent in that winning streak of yours."

Graves chuckled. "Ask away."

"You told me you played cards in French Camp with a certain regularity."

"For old time's sake."

"You said you never played with David Crispin before."

"Well, you know, I've been thinking about that since I visited the lovely widow Crispin. I did play with her husband before. Merced I think it was. He lost quite a bit to me then. Maybe that's why he was so keen to win that game in French Camp."

"Anywhere else?"

"No, not that I recall."

Jarrod's hand showed a pair of kings. He laid down a bet. "Had you ever met Laureen Crispin before the other night?"

Graves hesitated, checking his cards, before he said, "Crispin didn't bring his wife along."

Jarrod understood Graves was not answering the question he asked, but he let it go for now. He knew Graves wasn't likely to give him the real answer in public. He gave Graves a little glance that probably told him Jarrod was wise to the little dance Graves had just done.

Jarrod didn't ask any more questions, just played some cards and actually won some money. After half an hour or so, Jarrod got up, pocketing his winnings. "Sorry to have to leave, fellas, but it's getting late and my mother worries if I'm not home for dinner."

The other participants all chuckled. Graves said, "No more questions?"

"Not tonight," Jarrod said. And he tipped his hat and left.

Jarrod headed straight for the sheriff's office, where he found the sheriff doing some paperwork. "That took you a while," the sheriff said.

"It was worth it," Jarrod said. "I won a little money at poker. What did you find out?"

They exchanged information, and then they looked at each other. "So Graves and Crispin had played cards together before," the sheriff said.

Jarrod nodded. "Merced, at least. And Laureen may or may not have gone there with her husband."

"You don't believe her when she said she hadn't gone to French Camp?"

Jarrod said, "I don't know. It's possible that she and Graves are both telling the truth, but I'd bet they did know each other before the other night from somewhere."

"What do you think we do from here?"

Jarrod heaved a sigh. "I think the first thing we do is make sure Graves doesn't slip out of town tonight. Maybe that Laureen doesn't, too."

The sheriff heaved his own sigh. "That's gonna keep me up."

Jarrod smiled. "I'll help you. You keep watch on Graves. You have the authority to stop him if he tries. I'll park myself near the Crispin house and keep an eye on Laureen."

"We might run into each other."

Jarrod understood and nodded. "Graves might pay Laureen another visit."

"Or this might all be a colossal waste of time," the sheriff suggested.

Jarrod nodded again. "It might. But you've got to overturn a lot of rocks sometimes to find what you're looking for, or to assure yourself there's nothing to find."

"All right," the sheriff said. "Where did you find Graves?"

"Down on the waterfront, place a couple doors down from what used to be Barbary Red's."

"I'll go down and have a look."

"And I'll hope Laureen is still at home. See you later, Fred – maybe sooner than we think."


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

The sun was beginning to sink as Jarrod headed over toward the Crispin house. He was happy to see darkness coming on – it would make it harder for Laureen to spot him. He wondered if he should try talking to her once more, but then he decided against it. There was a little nook just beside the shed in her side yard, where he could tuck himself in and watch both the front and the back doors. He was getting hungry but he put that aside. He just waited.

He had been waiting for nearly four hours when he really began to have that shaky I-need-to-eat feeling. It was good and dark, and he thought that perhaps any time now Laureen would put out the lights and go to bed, and he could run by Harry's and get a sandwich. But something else happened first.

Somebody pulled up to the front of the house in a buggy. Jarrod could only see a silhouette against some town lights down the street, but he'd know that form anywhere. He groaned. Audra was here.

What in the world was she doing here at this time of night? Jarrod was no fool and knew his sister would find her way out of the house whenever she wanted to – whether anyone else in the family knew it or not – but why come to see Laureen now? He struggled with what to do but decided to wait. Maybe her visit wouldn't last long and she'd be on her way.

He wondered if he ought to try to get closer to the house to hear what they were saying to each other, but suddenly it was academic. He felt another familiar shadow come up beside him.

"Graves is about half a block away and heading here," Sheriff Madden said.

"Oh, no," Jarrod moaned. "Audra's inside."

"Audra? What's she doing here?"

"I don't know, but I wish she'd come out right now before Graves gets here. Maybe I better go get her."

"Too late."

They stopped talking then, spotting Graves coming across the street right in front of Audra's buggy. He stopped and seemed to be giving it a look. Maybe it would make him go away – he looked like he might be shifting in that direction. But then the front door opened, and Laureen and Audra were there. Audra seemed to be leaving.

And Graves stopped, standing perfectly still, looking up toward the porch. Then he was heading toward the porch.

"Hello," Jarrod and the sheriff heard Audra say as if she were addressing someone she didn't know, uneasily.

"Miss," Graves said and tipped his hat.

And then suddenly he grabbed Audra by the arm, shoved her back into the house, and closed the front door.

Jarrod started for the house. The sheriff held him back by the arm, saying, "Don't go rushing into this. He could hurt her if he's up to something and she's in the way."

"That's what I'm afraid of," Jarrod said.

"Let's try the back door, quietly," Sheriff Madden said.

Inside, Audra wrenched her arm free from Graves. "You're hurting me! Let go!"

"Ben, let her go," Laureen said. "She's just a friend of mine."

"What's going on?" Audra asked Laureen. "What's this about?"

"Nothing that concerns you, Miss," Graves said, "but I'm afraid we're going to have to keep you out of circulation for a while."

"What?" Audra asked.

Graves dragged a chair in from the kitchen, saying, "I need something to tie her up with."

"What?!" Audra cried as Graves sat her down hard.

Laureen came up with some heavy twine from the kitchen. "This is all you've got?" Graves asked.

"There's rope on the back porch," Laureen said.

"Go get it," Graves said, holding Audra down while he stuffed her mouth with his handkerchief.

Audra still made noise, crying out even though he'd stuffed her mouth so deep she couldn't spit the handkerchief out.

"Shut up!" Graves said. "This is none of your business and if you mind yourself, you won't get hurt."

Audra quieted down.

Jarrod and the sheriff were on the back porch, startled when Laureen came out, but the sheriff grabbed her right away and pulled her down off the porch. "Now you be quiet," he whispered hard in her ear.

Jarrod started moving slowly in through the back door, but then movement down where Laureen and the sheriff were caught his eye. Laureen had grabbed an axe handle from somewhere and tried to crown the sheriff with it, but he grabbed it from her and tossed it aside. "Ben!" she yelled loud.

The sheriff shoved Laureen down as Jarrod ran in through the back door, his gun out. Jarrod and the sheriff got to the parlor just in time to see Graves pull his gun out, pull Audra to him and put the gun to her head.

"Let her go!" Jarrod barked.

"No, not a chance," Graves said. "You two are going to stay right here while Missy here and I leave, and if I see your faces or anybody coming after us in the next half hour, I will blow her head off."

Audra looked almost – but not quite – panic-stricken as Graves began to back out the front door, keeping the gun to her head. As he went out the front, Laureen came in the back, wielding the axe handle again and heading for the sheriff. This time, the sheriff didn't see her coming, and she got him right across the back of the head. Jarrod turned in time to grab the axe handle as Laureen was bringing it down on him, too. He wrenched it away and pushed Laureen down onto the floor. But by now, Graves was gone out the front door, with Audra.

Jarrod ran to the door just in time to see Audra's buggy speeding away. He came back to Laureen and pulled her up off the floor. "Where are they going?!"

"I don't know!" Laureen cried.

"You were running away with him, weren't you?!" Jarrod yelled into her face. "The two of you killed David! When did you hatch this scheme – before he even got into that poker game?"

Laureen wouldn't answer, and Jarrod didn't have the time or the focus to evaluate whether his question even made any sense. Graves and Audra were gone, and the sheriff was lying, bleeding and unconscious, on the floor.

"Come on!" Jarrod growled and dragged Laureen out the front door, down toward the main street and the sheriff's office.

He found the deputy there and told him to lock Laureen up. He explained where the sheriff was and that he was hurt. Then Jarrod left everything to the deputy's hands and hurried out the door.

His horse was at the livery. He ran over there, practically bowling over people in the street, and got saddled and mounted as fast as he could – but then he was stuck. He had no idea where Graves had gone with Audra. Jarrod got as far as the edge of town, in the direction the buggy seemed to be heading, before he stopped and moaned. His heart wrenched inside him, actually making his chest hurt. Graves was gone, and he had Audra.

_Dear God in heaven, why did she have to come here tonight?_


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Jarrod got back to the jail as fast as he could. There was no one there except Laureen in the cell. The deputy was probably still getting the doctor off to the Crispin house, and Jarrod was glad there was no one there to stop what he was going to do. His eyes were black and that dark rage was up inside him as he walked slowly toward the cell Laureen was in. She backed away from the bars, terrified of the look on his face. Everybody in town knew that look by now.

"Where did they go?" Jarrod growled.

"I don't know," Laureen quivered.

"You were going to run away with him," Jarrod growled louder and moved closer to the bars. "Where were you going to go?"

"We – we were going to catch the train," Laureen said.

Jarrod still had enough self-presence to know that was not where Graves would be taking Audra now. "Tell me everything. Every single thing, starting with how you bashed David's head in with that axe handle you just hit the sheriff with."

Laureen cowered, as far away in a corner as she could get.

Jarrod moved slowly back into the office, found the keys to the cell, and then slowly moved back. He made sure Laureen saw what he had in his hand. "Tell me how you killed David." He put the keys in the cell lock.

"I hit him with the axe handle, like you said!" Laureen blurted. "He lost the house, for God's sake! I was ready to kill him!"

Jarrod turned the keys in the lock but did not open the door. "And you did kill him."

"The ladder was up against the house and I just told the sheriff and the doctor he fell!" Laureen quivered so badly she could hardly talk. She was crying and ready to scream.

Jarrod opened the cell door. "Tell me how you knew Graves."

"I didn't!" Laureen screamed. "Not until he came to the house when you saw him! He said he knew I killed David! He told me if I went with him, he wouldn't tell anyone and he'd look after me! I didn't have any money! I didn't have anyone to support me! I had to do something! Please, Jarrod, don't hurt me!"

Jarrod didn't believe any of that business about Graves, but before he could continue, the deputy came in, through the front door. He was calm at first but then he saw what was happening and heard Laureen screaming. He ran in and grabbed Jarrod. "Mr. Barkley, stop it!"

Jarrod didn't budge and didn't let him close the cell door. "Where is he taking Audra?!" he yelled at Laureen.

"I don't know! I don't know!" Laureen cried and cowered and sank down to the floor.

Jarrod let the deputy shove him back into the office. The deputy closed the cell door and locked it, then came into the office, yelling, "What the hell is the matter with you?!"

Jarrod glared at him with ugly eyes. "Laureen was going to run off with Graves tonight, but the sheriff and I stopped them, and Graves grabbed my sister instead. Laureen killed her husband with that axe handle, just like she hit the sheriff." Jarrod caught his breath and tried to cool down, but it didn't happen, not enough. "How is the sheriff?"

"At the doctor's," the deputy said. "I don't know how he is. You need to go home and calm down."

Jarrod glared even harder. "Graves has my sister!"

"And we don't know where he's gone and we can't track him in the dark!" the deputy yelled.

"The hell I can't," Jarrod said and knew he might be able to do it. He tracked Cass Hyatt in the dark. His rage forced him into trying. Jarrod pointed at the deputy. "You get somebody out to my house and tell my brothers what's happened."

Jarrod went out the door, mounted his horse, and started off again in the direction the buggy had gone. He found tracks in the dirt under the last of the town streetlamps, and he followed them off into the darkness.

XXXXXXXX

No one knew that Audra had slipped out after dinner until it dawned on them that she wasn't anywhere to be found, and Nick and Heath discovered the buggy was gone. It was nothing new to find Audra had taken off somewhere, but right now, with everything happening with Laureen, Victoria became very uneasy. "I know she's gone there," Victoria told Nick and Heath. "I'd feel a lot better if you'd go get her."

Nick and Heath went out to saddle up and were just leading their horses out of the stable when the man the deputy had sent out arrived and told them what was happening. They both nearly exploded.

"Go up to the house and tell Mrs. Barkley we're going into town and we'll take care of this," Nick said as he and Heath mounted. Heath took off ahead of him, but Nick wasn't two heartbeats behind.

They raced to the sheriff's office to find the deputy there, Laureen crying and rocking back and forth in the cell. "What's happening?" Nick asked fast. "Where's Jarrod?"

"Gone after your sister and Graves," the deputy said.

"Which way?" Heath asked.

"I don't know," the deputy said. "I couldn't tell."

"They were probably in the buggy," Heath said to Nick. "That's what Jarrod would be tracking."

"How's he gonna track it in the dark?" the deputy asked.

"The same way we are," Heath said.

Heath led the way back out to their horses, and he and Nick went straight to the Crispin house. They found the buggy's tracks out in front in the road and followed them to the same streetlamp at the edge of town that Jarrod had followed them to.

But Heath could see Jarrod's tracks, too. He knew them from the way their blacksmith shoed their horses. "He's gone after them," Heath said.

"Then so are we," Nick said.

XXXXXXXX

Jarrod could not see in the dark from his horse, but he could stop, dismount, and check the tracks in the road at every point there seemed to be a place for a buggy to pull off. He traveled several miles, hoping that any moment he'd find Audra standing alone in the road, abandoned by Graves. It would make sense. Graves would use her to get a head start, but then she would slow him down, so he'd leave her. At least Jarrod prayed he'd leave her, and leave her alive.

He didn't leave her.

But Jarrod kept going, kept tracking, unaware his brothers were an hour or so back but thinking they probably were not far away. Still, he pressed on as fast as he could, and he prayed he would not find Audra dead in the road somewhere.

He didn't find her dead in the road.

The sun began to rise before he found someplace where it looked like the buggy had turned off the road. Jarrod stopped, dismounted, made sure. Of course, he could have mistaken some other buggy for Audra's but he had to hope he hadn't. The spot where the buggy he thought he was after left the road was at a spot where a narrow country lane veered to the southwest. Jarrod had no idea what as down that way. For all he knew, Graves would have more hostages by now, at some farmhouse where he would try to hide out. But there was no way to be sure of anything until he rode down that lane and checked it out.

His anger had cooled just a little through the night, but now that it looked like he might be getting close to Graves, it started to rise up again. If Graves had hurt Audra, Jarrod wasn't sure he could keep his rage in check. He knew that animal well, that one that lived inside him and had reared its ugly head before. He knew he would have to work awfully hard to keep his composure this time. If Audra was still alive, he'd need his senses to get her free.

If she wasn't – all bets were off.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

"Far enough, Barkley."

Jarrod heard the familiar voice, but even though the sun had risen enough to see around him, he could not see the buggy or Ben Graves or Audra. There were too many bushes to hide behind, too many small groves of trees, and no way to track the buggy anymore. It had gone off the road and cross country. But there it was, Graves's voice, nearby and threatening. Jarrod pulled his horse to a stop.

"Where's my sister?" he asked.

"She's with me," Graves's voice said.

Then Audra's voice said, "I'm all right, Jarrod."

"Let her go, Graves," Jarrod said.

"Get down and drop your sidearm," Graves said.

Jarrod dismounted, removed his gun from its holster, and threw it several feet away. "Let her go," Jarrod repeated.

"No, not just yet," Graves said.

Jarrod had figured out the voice was coming from beyond a large set of bushes, ahead of him and off to his left. Jarrod began to move ahead of his horse. "All right, then, now what? You know I've got men coming up behind me. You're not going to get away. So far you haven't killed anyone. Don't start now."

"I have no desire to start now," Graves said. "I want you to put your hands up behind your head and lace the fingers, then turn around."

Jarrod did as he was told. The movement forced his hat down over his eyes a little bit, but it didn't matter, as he heard the footsteps coming up behind him now. In a moment, Graves had seized his hands and wrenched them painfully down behind his back. Jarrod felt both shoulders pulled almost to the point they were popped out of joint.

Graves tied his hands behind him and told him he could turn around. Bound too tight to do anything, Jarrod turned, relieved to see his sister. Her hands were bound behind her, too, and Graves had hold of her by the bindings.

"Are you all right, honey?" Jarrod asked.

Audra nodded. "He hasn't hurt me."

"Let her go, Graves," Jarrod said. "You can keep me if you want a hostage."

"Well, I can't very well abandon her out here alone, can I?" Graves said. "Just because you say someone is coming behind you doesn't mean they are. I leave her out here all tied up like this and she could be done in by the sun by noontime."

"Men are coming behind me," Jarrod said. "And if you really want to get away fast, you'll take my horse and do it and leave us both here."

Graves looked like he was thinking about that.

Jarrod said, "Laureen talked. She said the two of you were taking off together. She said she killed her husband."

"So she did," Graves said.

"So why the little escape plan? What's she to you that you wanted her with you?"

For a moment Graves took on a smirk that said he didn't really know how or why he had latched onto Laureen, but he said, "I've said all I'm going to say."

"She isn't worth all this," Jarrod said. "Why don't you just come back and turn yourself in before you get in any deeper?"

"Well, I'm in pretty deep as it is. Get interested in a woman and it never works out well. No - I won't turn myself in."

"Then take my horse and go," Jarrod said. "Leave us here. That's your only real chance."

Graves looked like he was thinking about it, but he said, "No. "

Graves took the reins of Jarrod's horse. He forced Audra over to it and shoved her up into the saddle. Audra looked at Jarrod and with his eyes he quickly told her to ride out as soon as she was set, ride out fast and get away, far away. She understood. She hurt to leave him here, but as soon as she was in the saddle, she kicked Jarrod's horse in the sides and took off.

The horse knocked into Graves, and he went down. Jarrod couldn't defend himself very well with his hands tied, but as Graves went for his gun, even as he was still on the ground, Jarrod kicked it away and then kicked Graves in the head. And kicked him twice more.

Audra rode about a hundred yards away, but then got the horse stopped and turned with her knees. All the while she was trying to work her wrists free. They were beginning to hurt and get sticky with blood, but when she saw Jarrod kicking Graves in the dirt, she started back. "Jarrod! Jarrod, stop!"

"Ride, Audra!" Jarrod ordered. "Ride now!"

Graves didn't move any more in the dirt. He was bloodied about the head, and Jarrod gave him a hard kick in the side before he stopped kicking. Audra didn't listen to Jarrod's order. She came riding back and stopped the horse about twenty feet in front of her brother and her kidnapper.

Audra jumped down off the horse and came running. "Jarrod, please don't kick him anymore."

Jarrod caught his breath. "Turn around," he said. "Let me try to get these ropes off you."

"They're just about off," Audra said as Jarrod fumbled with them. Trying to untie her while he was himself tied was hard, but she was right. Her ropes where partly worked off already. As soon as they fell away, she turned around and began to untie Jarrod. "Jarrod, have you killed him?" she asked.

As soon as he was untied, Jarrod flexed his shoulders and found his gun. Holstering it, Jarrod bent down beside Graves and checked. "No. He's breathing and he might start waking up any minute." Jarrod took the discarded ropes and began to tie Graves up the way he had tied them, plus binding his ankles together. "Where's the buggy?" Jarrod asked.

"Hidden behind those bushes," Audra said.

"Go get it," Jarrod said.

Jarrod stood up again as Audra went after the buggy. In a few moments, she was bringing it back to them. She got out and held the horse still as Jarrod hoisted Graves up and dumped him unceremoniously into the buggy.

"You ride my horse," Jarrod said. "I'll take him in the buggy."

"We're a long way from anywhere," Audra said.

"We'll go back to the road and take it to the nearest town," Jarrod said. "With any luck, we'll run into Nick and Heath before long."

"You're sure they're after us?"

Jarrod finally caught his breath, and rubbing his wrists he said, "I sent word back to the house about what happened. I guarantee they're after us."

"Jarrod – what you said about Laureen – that she killed David – "

Jarrod nodded. "She told me she did. I'm not sure about the rest of the story, but we'll find out when we get back to Stockton. You mount up and ride behind me. I'll keep Graves under control if he wakes up, but I don't think he's going to be any trouble trussed up like this."

Audra was still worried about the man. He was lying like a lump in the footwell of the buggy.

Jarrod took Audra into his arms and kissed her. "Don't worry. We'll get this all figured out before too long."

Audra nodded, but then she finally cried.

Jarrod gave her a smile and wiped her tears away. "It's all gonna be all right, Audra. I promise you."

Audra nodded, but whether it was all going to be all right, she wasn't sure yet. She was concerned that Jarrod had hurt Graves badly, but even if he hadn't – even if Graves was going to be all right – her friend David was still dead, and her friend Laureen had killed him.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

It was only half an hour later that Jarrod and Audra met their brothers coming toward them on the road. Like Jarrod, Nick and Heath had ridden all night, but slowly, having trouble tracking the buggy and Jarrod until the sun came up. Now they visibly relaxed to see their siblings headed their way. They all stopped.

"Audra, are you all right?" Nick asked quickly.

Audra nodded. "My wrists are a little burned, that's all. Mr. Graves is not so good, though."

Heath dismounted and took a look at Graves, still trussed up and unmoving at Jarrod's feet in the buggy. "He's bloody around the head," Heath said, "but he's still alive."

"He had me tied up like Audra and I had to kick him for us to have the chance to get loose," Jarrod said.

"I think you best get him to a doctor," Heath said. "There should be one in Tracy up ahead."

Jarrod said, "I'll take him there. You two take Audra home. Any word on Fred Madden?"

"He was still with the doctor when we left," Nick said. "The deputy was keeping an eye on things."

"Why don't you tell whoever's in charge what's going on? I still don't know what Graves and Laureen were really up to, except that they were leaving together, and Laureen told me she killed David."

"She killed him, huh?"

Jarrod nodded. "She said she got mad he lost the house, but I'll lay odds the story is really more complicated than that and Graves figures in more than he's let on."

As Heath remounted, Nick said, "I'll go to Tracy with you, Jarrod. Heath can see Audra home. If Graves wakes up, you might need some help with him."

"All right," Jarrod said. Then to Heath he said, "Tell Mother we'll be there when we get there."

They split up then, Heath and Audra heading for Stockton and Jarrod and Nick taking Graves to Tracy. Graves was beginning to stir by the time they got there. Jarrod and Nick hauled him out of the buggy and into the doctor's office, and once there, Jarrod told Nick to stay put while he went to see the sheriff.

Jarrod had been to Tracy once or twice before and knew the sheriff there. He found the man on the street, making morning rounds. "Jarrod Barkley!" he said and extended a hand.

Jarrod smiled and shook the sheriff's hand. "Monty. Good to see you."

The sheriff saw some rope burns on Jarrod's wrist, not bloody but rubbed raw. "What happened there?"

"Come on to your office and I'll tell you what's going on."

When they got to the office, the sheriff gave Jarrod a cup of coffee and some liniment for his wrists. Jarrod was grateful for both and he explained how he and Nick came to be hauling Graves in to the doctor's office. Then he began to try to explain the backstory, but as he did, Jarrod began to realize the whole thing sounded hopelessly confused and convoluted.

"Wait, stop," the sheriff finally said. "I don't need all of it. This woman admitted to killing her husband and planning to run away with this Graves fellow, who had won her house in a card game, right?"

"That's the core of it, yes," Jarrod said.

"You don't know if Graves was involved in the killing, but he took your sister hostage when he was trying to get away."

"Yes," Jarrod said.

"All right, that's all I need to know. What do you want me to do?"

"If Graves can't travel, he'll need to be in your jail until he can," Jarrod said. "And if he's able to talk soon, I'd like to ask him a lot of questions."

"We'll see what the doctor says about that."

The doctor said there was no chance Graves would be ready to talk for another day or two. He had a concussion, couldn't see properly and was having trouble putting even one sentence together. "You kicked him a bit hard, son," the doctor said.

Jarrod raised his wrists and showed the doctor the rope burns. "I'm sorry, but I didn't feel like I had any choice, doctor."

"Well," the doctor said, and left it at that.

Jarrod and Nick decided to go home, telling the sheriff and the doctor that someone would come from Stockton to collect Graves when he was able to travel. "My questions can wait," Jarrod said.

Jarrod and Nick headed back to Stockton then. It was dark when they got there, but they headed to the sheriff's office and found the deputy still in charge. "How's Fred?" Jarrod asked quickly.

"Recovering," the deputy said. "The doc still has him, but I expect he'll go home tomorrow."

"Did you talk to Heath and Audra when they came in?" Nick asked.

The deputy nodded. "I'll fill the sheriff in tomorrow. You two might as well go home. I expect your mother's on the worried side."

Jarrod wandered into the cellblock as the deputy spoke. Laureen was still in there, and when she saw him she moved back away from the bars again. She looked at him once and then looked away.

Jarrod shook his head slowly. "You're going to need a lawyer, but it's sure not going to be me. And I'll be selling your house. You're not going to be needing it anymore."

Laureen said nothing.

Jarrod left her. Nick was waiting patiently, and he eyed his brother when he came out of the cellblock. He could tell the man was tired, sick and tired of this whole thing. "Let's go," Nick said.

They headed home and arrived just as Victoria, Heath and Audra were heading into the dining room for dinner. "Oh, good, you're home," Victoria said and kissed them both. "My goodness, you both need to clean up and change clothes. We'll hold dinner for you."

Jarrod gave Audra a kiss. "How are you doing, sweetheart? Are you all right?"

"I'm fine now," Audra said.

But it was after dinner that Jarrod took Audra by the arm and led her out to the verandah. "Do you want to talk about everything that's happened?" Jarrod asked. "Why were you going to see Laureen at that time of night?"

"Things we talked about, things you said," Audra said. "I just had to talk to Laureen, and I followed the impulse."

"You and Nick," Jarrod said with a sigh.

"I know, I'm just like him," Audra said, smiling, but then she lost it. "I saw Laureen at the jail. I tried to talk to her. I asked her how she could have killed David, but she wouldn't say anything at all to me."

"Well, I don't know exactly what was going on either," Jarrod said. "I expect we'll find out more when Graves is able to talk, but it's clear she did kill David, even if not much more is clear. I'm sorry, honey. I know she was your friend, and I know you loved David and her both."

"I think I can accept that David ruined his life with gambling. I can't accept Laureen killing him, and running away with Graves – that's just impossible to understand."

"We may never understand it," Jarrod said, "but one or both of them will talk before long and tell us how they came to hatch that plan."

"Graves didn't say anything to you when you took him to the doctor?"

"He wasn't even really awake when we left him," Jarrod said.

Audra squeezed Jarrod's arm. "Jarrod – you kicked him awfully hard. You frightened me."

Jarrod said, "I hurt him, I know. I'll admit I lost my temper when I saw he had you tied up. I have a temper, Audra. It's a nasty one and it frightens me too." He looked at her, at the concern in her eyes. "I'm sorry. I'm working on it. I'm trying harder to control it. I just have trouble when I see someone I love is hurt."

"I don't want to be the cause of that ever again," Audra said.

"You weren't the cause of it," Jarrod said. "Graves was, and I was. I'm sorry. The last thing I ever want to do is frighten you or make you think you're the cause of my bad temper."

"When do you think we'll know what really happened with David and Laureen and Graves?"

"I don't know. Technically, I won't be involved at all in the case except that you and I were victims for a time, so we'll just have to wait until things come out. In the meantime, my dear sister, I think we're both too tired to stay up much longer. Shall I walk you to your room?"

Audra smiled and nodded.

Epilogue

The local prosecutor offered Laureen a deal if she would talk, truthfully, before Graves did, so she told the whole story. She had known for some time that David was a gambler, but he hadn't even started gambling until after they were married. He wanted more money, always more money. Laureen had traveled to French Camp and even to San Francisco once with him. His losing streak had gotten very bad over the past couple months, though, and it strained their relationship badly. They were definitely falling out of love.

A month before David's death, he took Laureen to Merced, where he fell into a card game with Graves for the first time. Graves took almost every cent David had in that game, and Laureen found her interest in Graves growing even as her interest in her husband slipped away. Graves liked her attentions, too. Something was happening between them, something David was too busy gambling to notice.

David had gone to French Camp to win money back from Graves because he heard Graves was up there, but that was when he lost the house. Certain Graves had cheated him, David came home, stewed and began to make threats, and at the same time he and Laureen argued badly. That was when Laureen had enough, and she hit David with the axe handle as he headed out to go back to French Camp to confront Graves. She hadn't intended to kill him. She just couldn't stop hitting him.

The ladder had been up against the house since the last time David used it to patch a leak. Laureen came up with the "fell off the roof" story. Graves came into town to see his house and, in a perverse bit of digging harder into David, to see Laureen. When he found out David was dead, he read her tells like the gambler he was and wormed her into admitting to him that she'd killed David. Realizing he had her under his thumb and had the power to get her and keep her for himself, he offered to take her with him. She agreed, happily.

Once he was back in Stockton and recovering from his injuries, Graves didn't dispute any part of the story, except to say he hadn't cheated in any card games and regretted he let "that woman" entice him into trouble. "And that's basically it," Jarrod explained to his family as they gathered before dinner. "They each got deals and are pleading guilty. Laureen will go to prison."

"What about Graves?" Heath asked.

"Well, he concealed what he knew about David's murder and then abducted Audra," Jarrod said. "He's going to prison, too. Not for nearly as long, but he's going."

"And that's it?" Victoria said.

"That, and I now own a house in Stockton," Jarrod said.

"You can sell that easily enough," Audra said.

"I don't know," Jarrod said. "Maybe I'll keep it and move into town."

"What?!" every voice said.

Jarrod laughed. "It needs a little work. I can live there while I fix it up."

"You?!" Nick said. "Working on a house?! _You'd_ fall off the roof!"

"I'm a bit more agile than that, Nick," Jarrod said.

"We can help you now and then," Heath offered. "What do you think our rate ought to be, Nick?"

"You couldn't pay me enough," Nick said.

Jarrod laughed. "All right, I'll hire somebody in town to have a look at the place and cure what ails it. Then I'll probably sell it."

Audra shook her head. "I'll be glad to get rid of it. I'll be glad to get rid of all of this. Nobody was who I thought they were, Jarrod."

Jarrod said, "It's tough when you find out friends haven't been honest with you."

"And that one of them is a murderer," Audra said. "That's going to be tough to remember."

Jarrod put an arm around her. "Part of growing up, honey. Life is full of tough propositions."

The End


End file.
